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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Anatomy of a Conflict: Afar and Ise Ethiopia |
Author: | Markakis, John |
Year: | 2003 |
Periodical: | Review of African Political Economy |
Volume: | 30 |
Issue: | 97 |
Period: | September |
Pages: | 445-453 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Ethiopia |
Subjects: | ethnic relations social change Afar Somali Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Politics and Government |
External link: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08 |
Abstract: | On 23 March 2002, a group of about 50 armed Ise arrived at the construction site of the new district centre for the Afar Borimadaitu district, on the road to Djibouti, Ethiopia's sole link to the sea running through the desiccated Allighedhi plain. A group of about 30 Afar warriors, lying in ambush, opened fire when the Ise got within range. A battle ensued before an Ethiopian army detachment arrived from a nearby base. The Ise quit the battlefield. 13 Ise were killed and 10 wounded. The author uses this bloodshed as a starting point for his examination of the factors causing the conflict between the Afar and Ise, both pastoralist groups, who are neighbours and traditional enemies, eternally feuding over pastureland and waterpoints. It appears that the conflict is rooted in a complex of factors. It is an 'ethnic conflict' as well as a 'resource conflict', a conflict of 'identities', of 'cultures' and of 'values'. It has roots in the region's colonial past, and various forces from the outside have intervened since 1919, when the Djibouti-Addis Ababa railway was completed. The author also pays attention to peacekeeping actions by the federal government. [ASC Leiden abstract] |