Violence once again hit the border area between Afar and Somali regional states. Similar to previous incidents, contradicting narratives about the nature of clashes dominated the conversation over the weekend, with the Somali regional government accusing Afar Special Forces and a group it called ‘Uguguma’ for the violence and members of the Afar community dismissing the news as a propaganda.

Addis Standard received reports of the violence from sources in the Somali region who detailed incidents of violence on Garba Issa, Undhufto and Aydetu towns. Shortly after Addis Standard received the reports, the Freedom and Equality Party chapter of the Somali region issued a statement condemning the violence and asking for swift actions to protect civilians.

Yesterday, Somali regional government issued a statement where it accused Afar Special Forces of collaborating with ‘Uguguma’ (a name usually used to refer to Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front) to inflict harm on the Somali people and implement TPLF’s agenda. The statement also laid the blame at the feet of the federal security forces and accused it of failing to protect Somali civilians, the statement read, “Following a similar attack a few months ago, federal security forces took responsibility for maintaining peace and order in the area. But sadly the current horrific attack can only be the result of federal security forces failing to fulfill their responsibilities.”