18 Ethiopians killed over land clashes-Mozambique intercepts Ethiopian migrants

By Simegnish Yekoye

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - 18 people were killed last week over clashes over grazing and farm land near southern Ethiopian town of Wondo-Genet, police said.
According to Commander Demesash Hailu, public relation officer of the federal police, the clashes between the two clans of Gugi Oromo and Sidama clans that are 260km away from Addis Ababa is now under control and the government is investigating the real cause of fighting.
Meanwhile, Mozambican police on Tuesday reported they have intercepted a truck carrying a container in which 155 Ethiopians and Somalis were traveling in.

According to the report from the police the truck was containing 68 young Somalis and 87 Ethiopians who are said are illegal migrants. The report says one of these illegal migrants had already died of asphyxiation and a further 50 were in a severely weakened condition, and required medical care.
After the police stooped the truck that entered Mozambique from Malawi at a police check point, they could hear screams from inside the container, of passengers apparently complaining that they were suffocating to death.
The passengers are reported to have traveled for many hours from a refugee camp in Malawi inside the windowless metallic container, without any food or drinking water.

Police have said they hope to deport the group back to Malawi.
Driving through Tete province en route to the port city of Beira, the illegal migrants were to be uploaded in Mozambique with the help of their Malawian driver.•