NAIROBI, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- UN agencies appealed on Thursday for 8.9 million U.S. dollars to meet life-saving needs over the next three months as tens of thousands of people flee clashes in Ethiopia and cross into northern Kenya.
The appeal was issued jointly by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Children's Fund, the International Organization for Migration and the World Food Programme, and is intended to support up to 50,000 people. The agencies said they are planning a response for up to 80,000 people in anticipation of further arrivals.
In a separate humanitarian update released on the same day in Nairobi, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the security situation on the Ethiopian side of Moyale remained volatile, with newly arrived refugees and asylum-seekers recounting widespread damage to homes and neighborhoods.
"People sheltering near the border faced heightened protection risks, and humanitarian partners were working with local authorities in Kenya to relocate them to safer locations," OCHA said.
Fighting in Ethiopia's Moyale area, which began on Oct. 18 and escalated into armed clashes on Oct. 22, has continued to displace residents internally and drive cross-border movements into Moyale Sub-County, Marsabit County, northern Kenya, he added.
According to county authorities, an estimated 50,000 people had crossed into Kenya as of Nov. 3, with the majority sheltering among host communities on the Kenyan side of Moyale. Women and children make up the vast majority of the new arrivals.
OCHA said humanitarian access remained constrained in some border areas, including Somare near the Kenya-Ethiopia border. ■