On March 15th, 2017, bandits from the South Sudanese local ethnic group of Murle crossed the national border to enter the Gambella region in Ethiopia. They killed 28 people and kidnapped 43 children before escaping. Cross-border attacks have become quite common; however, the severity of the most recent raids is raising major concern in Ethiopia.
South Sudan has been in the center of a civil war since the President fired his deputy in December 2013 over religious conflict. This has resulted in the country splitting along ethnic lines and forced more than three million people to flee their homes. Of those, more than one million have found refuge in neighboring countries such as Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Sudan.
This raid occurred nearly a year after similar attacks in Jikawo and Lare Ethiopia which border South Sudan’s Upper Nile State. This attack resulted in the death of more than 200 people and 160 children were kidnapped. It was carried out over two days, Sunday and Monday. Residents of the Gambella protested to demand justice and better security. Over the years, there has been tensions between Ethiopians and South Sudanese tribes, often raiding each other’s land to steal cattle and abduct children. Protests have been taking place across the region urging the government to save the children kidnapped during various attacks.
For more information please read:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/ethiopia-reports-deadly-raid-gunmen-south-sudan-170315130515870.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39281590