464 Chapter 4
MID#4404
Dispute Number: 4404
Date(s): June 20, 2009 to September 13, 2009
Participants: 501 Kenya/520 Somalia
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Kenya fortified its border following continued attacks from the Al-Shabab
Islamist group in Somalia.
501 Kenya/530 Ethiopia
MID#4188
Dispute Number: 4188
Date(s): January 16, 1999 to June 9, 1999
Participants: 530 Ethiopia/501 Kenya
Outcome (and Settlement): Compromise (Negotiated)
Fatalities: 1–25 deaths
Narrative: On January 16, 1999, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) attacked two
Ethiopian garrisons near Sololo and Fanchana (near Kenya’s Moyale district), killing
14 soldiers. The rebels then retreated to Kenyan territory with Ethiopian troops in pur-
suit. The Ethiopians attacked Dabala Fuchana, Moyale district, injuring two Kenyan
police reservists and two Kenyan civilians and seizing three others before Kenyan
security forces repulsed the attack. Many Kenyans fled the area. Kenyan officials met
with an Ethiopian commissioner of police, but nothing came of the talks. The Kenyan
government then lodged a protest with Ethiopia.
In late May, Kenya arrested 10 rebels and sentenced them to 10 years in prison
for possession of illegal weapons. On June 8, Kenyan media reported that Kenyan
soldiers had killed four Ethiopian soldiers near Moyale and that Ethiopian soldiers
were mining the border; meanwhile, officials from both countries were meeting to
resolve the issue in Addis Ababa. On June 9 the joint committee released a commu-
nique whereby they pledged closer cooperation in fighting the OLF and blamed other
unnamed states in the region for creating trouble.
Coding changes: End Date changed from January 16, 1999.
MID#4346
Dispute Number: 4346
Date(s): January 23, 2002 to February 4, 2002
Participants: 530 Ethiopia/501 Kenya
Outcome (and Settlement): Compromise (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Ethiopian forces closed the border, crossed into Kenya, and occupied a
secondary school in a nearby town. Kenya responded by sending police forces to the
school, and the Ethiopians eventually retreated without incident.