Somali-Oromo Reconciliation Conference Kicks Off In Jigjiga

The second reconciliation conference to end the tribal skirmishes and strengthen cooperation between Somalis and Oromo ethnic communities in Ethiopia has kicked off in Jigjiga on Sunday.

The first meeting was held in Adhama, Oromia administrative capital earlier this year.

Officials from Somali and Oromo regional states of Ethiopia led by President Mustafe Muhumed Omar and President Mr. Shinmelis Abdisa, elites the from the two communities, traditional leaders from both communities attended the conference at the administrative capital of Somali-Ethio regional state.

Somali state President, Mustafe Muhumed Omar who opened the conference recalled the strong cultural and religious relationship between the two ethnic groups saying there is a need to fortify the bond and end the difference.

On his side, the President of the Oromia region, Shinmelis Abdisa urged the two neighboring communities to stop listening to political interest groups and instead focus on their historic relations in the country.

The two communities who are both pastoralists clashed over land, pasture, and water in recent years mainly after the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.

Several people were killed and hundreds displaced as the result of the tension but the new reconciliation conference is expected to bring a lost lasting solution.