Implication of the Afar -somali Pastoralist Conflict on the Socio -economic Rights of Residents in Afar Region Zone Three
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2013-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
A.A.U
Abstract
Afar and Somali are neighboring communities who predominantly practice pastoralism and
share a number of social, economic, spiritual and cultural similarities. As pastoralists they often
share the same grazing land and water points. Especially during drought seasons that cause
serious scarcity of those natural resources vital for livestock consumption, clashes between
herdsmen is inevitable fact.
However, Afar – Somali pastoralists have had traditional dispute resolving mechanisms
managed under the auspices of elders and clan leaders of both communities. Nonetheless,
although Afar respondents relate starting of the serious conflict back to the period when
construction of the Addis – Djibouti railway line had been conducted by a French company
which they noted that it had militarily trained and recruited Issa/Somali members for security
purposes which later helped them to wage serious attack against the Afar communities and
similarly entrance of Italy to Ogaden - Ethiopia via Somaliland and its relation with the
Issa/Somali again, in the last two decades the trend of the conflict has completely changed its
dimensions. After the Derg regime and coming of new federal system, intervention of regional
administrations in the Afar – Somali pastoralist conflict has increasingly grown from time to
time.
The Afar zone three which is a home for Awash and Gewane rivers and pastoralist and non
pastoralist communities, holding great potential for water and grazing activities vital for
livestock production is the center for the conflict between Afar and Somali pastoralist
communities. Afar elders noted that the Somali (Issa and Hawiya) communities not only
relentlessly covet to access water and pasture but also to control this resource rich areas and
trading route and establish permanent settlements and institutions within the Afar region.
Accordingly the perpetual, frequent and destructive nature of the conflict in the study area
causes a number of social, economical and psychological impacts on residents. The Afars
relentless efforts to expel Somali pastoralist communities from the Afar region on the one hand
and the Somalis interest to occupy the Awash River basin water and grazing resources on the
other have made the conflict and tension of the study area remain constant.
As a result, violent killings, body injury, displacement of residents, livestock raiding and
destruction of property are common phenomenon in the study area. Such displacements and
injuries further resulted in violation of residents’ right to housing, freedom of movement, right to
food, right to education, work, health and other related socioeconomic rights.
Description
Keywords
Implication