Tight controls at border crossings

Following the reported defection of seven Ethiopian soldiers to Kenya on Monday, security at border crossing points between the two countries has been tightened, humanitarian sources told IRIN. Kenyan and Ethiopian security forces have been deployed at the border crossing points of Wada, Sololo, Somare, Bori and Gurari, all in northern Kenya, the sources said. The soldiers who were being held by the Kenya Army Intelligence Corps at Oda camp in Moyale, have now been moved to Garissa and “are being held at a police station”, according to the sources.

The reason for the soldiers’ defection is unclear, but Kenyan media reports indicate that it might be tied to “increasing discontent” in the Ethiopian army. The soldiers who surrendered to the Kenyan authorities were reportedly from the Negele garrison in southern Ethiopia, some 180 km from the Kenyan border, the sources told IRIN. “Another 12 to 14 were seen at the Somare crossing” trying to cross into Kenya, but were arrested by Ethiopian authorities”, they said.