ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian government is rehabilitating the 70,000 people displaced due to conflict in the border areas of Oromia and Somali regional states.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mitiku Kassa Commissioner of Ethiopia National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) said a committee that comprises representatives of different government entities has been established to help with the rehabilitation efforts.
"The committee will provide immediate response for the victims, rehabilitate them and prevent similar problems in the future," said Kassa.
NDRMC is providing emergency assistance including food and non-food items as well as health related services to people displaced from both regional states due to the conflict.
Ethiopia's biggest regional states Oromia and Somali have been locked in a dispute over the delineation of their common boundary for almost two decades.
A referendum in October 2004 was supposed to demarcate the boundary between the two regional states, but its implementation has been stalled ever since with both sides accusing each other of non-compliance with the referendum results.
Over the past week, heavy clashes along the Oromia-Somali boundary spilled into ethnic violence which has left scores of people dead and tens of thousands displaced.
As part of the efforts to calm the situation, the Ethiopian federal government announced last week roads that cross both regional states will be guarded by the federal police and security forces of both regional states will withdraw from border locations.
In addition, the statement from the federal government said it will engage in disarmament of weapons held by civilians in the area of the conflict.
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