Friday August 1, 2025
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (HOL) — The Afar People’s Party (APP) has accused Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State of violating territorial boundaries with a new administrative restructuring that the party says threatens to derail a fragile peace process and reignite past conflict.
On July 27, the Somali Regional Council approved the creation of 14 new woredas (districts), four new zonal administrations, and 25 municipal offices. While Somali officials insist the move is internal and does not involve boundary changes, the APP says the decision—especially the establishment of the “Western Zone” or Gelbeedk Zone—encroaches into Afar territory.
The dispute comes during ongoing efforts to preserve peace between the two regions following a deadly 2019 border conflict and a ceasefire agreement brokered by the Islamic Affairs Supreme Council in April 2024. That process led to the creation of a federal National Committee, which formally announced a cessation of hostilities in September 2024.
Federal officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh and Minister of Peace Binalf Andualem, supported the effort, which deployed police and military forces to stabilize contested areas like Gabi Rasu (Afar) and Sitti Zone (Somali). Minister Binalf said at the time the peace process gave affected communities “a return to normalcy and hope for a more peaceful future.”
In its statement, the Afar People’s Party (APP) outlined four major objections to the Somali Region’s restructuring. First, the party accused the Somali authorities of violating federal jurisdiction by establishing new zones that allegedly cross into Afar-administered territory, thereby bypassing the National Consultation Commission, which is still mandated to address such disputes. Second, APP warned that the move could reignite violence, particularly as Ethiopia remains in a fragile state of recovery from recent internal conflicts. Third, the party argued that the restructuring undermines the credibility of ongoing federal peacebuilding efforts and threatens to unravel months of progress achieved through negotiation. Finally, APP said the decision poses a broader threat to national unity, claiming it could erode internal cohesion and create opportunities for destabilizing actors.
Meanwhile, the OLF-OLA also blasted the restructuring as a “political provocation,” citing recent demonstrations in Oromia’s Borana Zone and renewed tension in Moyale and other disputed border towns. The group warned that the move was part of a broader strategy by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government to fracture Oromo political unity and instigate ethnic division.
The border tensions between the Somali and Afar regions have a history of bloodshed. In 2019, similar unilateral declarations triggered deadly clashes and displacement among pastoralist communities. Reports by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and Addis Standard have documented recurring violence in the disputed zones.
While Somali Region’s communication chief Mohammed Adam maintains that the restructuring is “strictly internal,” the APP rejected that claim and demanded the reversal of what it called “unconstitutional and dangerous” actions.
“We reaffirm our commitment to constitutional dialogue,” the APP said, expressing willingness to support peaceful and legal solutions to inter-regional disputes.