Security
Reflecting on Conflict, Displacement, and Coexistence in Gambella
Borkena · 2 weeks ago · Read the Full Story on Borkena
AI SUMMARY
An analysis of the historical, political, and cross-border factors driving conflict and displacement in Gambella, alongside pathways toward lasting peace and coexistence.
- Scholars and observers identify competition over natural resources like land and political power struggles among elites as major drivers of conflict in Gambella.
- Colonial and state policies historically contributed to divisions and competition between communities, including the 1902 demarcation of the Ethiopia-Sudan border.
- The 1902 border division separated communities like the Anywaa and Nuer, and the expansion of Ethiopian administration involved incorporating Nuer communities and taxation.
- Successive conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan drove large numbers of refugees into Gambella, altering the region's demographic and political landscape.
- On April 4, 2024, armed Nuer forces from South Sudan, reportedly accompanied by local Nuer, attacked four villages in Jor Woreda.
- A 2025 conflict analysis by the Rift Valley Institute reported that more than 100 Anywaa people were killed, hundreds of cattle were taken, and children were abducted in Jor Woreda.
- Submissions to the UN Universal Periodic Review also documented the killing of over 100 Anywaa people by well-armed White Army forces crossing from South Sudan.
- The Gambella Liberation Front, led by Gatluak Buom, collaborated with the Oromo Liberation Front and carried out an attack in Gambella town on June 14, 2022.
- Measures proposed for lasting peace include providing equal protection, strengthening border security, reconsidering refugee-hosting arrangements, and ensuring local communities have a voice.
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