Kenyan traders allege harassment by Ethiopian Forces along River Nakuwa

Ethiopian government soldiers ride in the back of a truck on a road near Agula, north of Mekele, in the Tigray region. [File, AP]

Locals have raised alarm over rising cases of harassment targeting Kenyan traders by Ethiopian Special Forces deployed along River Nakuwa, sparking fears of renewed conflict in the border region.

Fresh details reveal that for the past two months, Kenyan traders operating between Kibish (Kenya) and Kangaten (Ethiopia) have faced repeated intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and confiscation of property by the Ethiopian forces.

The development threatens to roll back years of peacebuilding between the Turkana of Kenya and the Nyangatom of Ethiopia, who have coexisted peacefully for nearly five years.