The Ethiopian government has accused the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) of being behind the ongoing clashes along the Kenya-Ethiopia border which has claimed more than 10 lives.

A diplomat at the Ethiopian Embassy in Nairobi said OLF rebels weared Ethiopian soldiers' uniforms in order to create the impression that the government was involved in such raids.

"The OLF factor in the clashes should not be belittled. It is always there to incite problems and annoy people particularly at the border," Acting Ethiopian Ambassador to Kenya Ajebe Ligaba Wolde said during an interview with a local television station.

The Kenyan government has deployed extra security forces along the common border following several deadly cattle raids.

Two more people have been killed, following 12 deaths in recent weeks while some 10,000 people have fled their homes, according to Kenya's Red Cross.

"They (OLF rebels) put on Ethiopian soldier's uniforms to defame Ethiopia," said Wolde.

The two countries have good relations, he said, adding that the Kenya government was also aware the Ethiopian government is not involved in the attacks.

However, Wolde called for the need for the two countries to hold joint operations to clear the OLF problem once and for all along the border with neighboring Kenya.

"OLF is not only a threat to peace in Ethiopia but also to Kenya and the whole region. They want to destabilize the region," Wolde said.

The last joint operation between the two countries, he noted, was about two years ago and there was need for another.

Cattle raids are common in this remote border area, where many people's main source of income remains their animals.

Food security analysts say drought which threatened 11 million people in the Horn of Africa region has increased competition for pastures between rival ethnic groups.

As well as the deaths, more than 10 people were kidnapped from their homes in northern Kenya and thousands of sheep, cows and camels were stolen from a village some 300 km east of Marsabit.

The Ethiopian diplomat said his government is keen to cooperate with the Kenyans to trace the people who have gone missing following the raids.

Last week, 14 members of a peace mission to the area, including two assistant ministers and four other MPs, died in a plane crash.

Residents living near the border have fled to nearby schools, fearing further attacks by the militiamen from neighboring Ethiopia.

But the Kenyan authorities said people living along the border should not fear since the government was in control, adding that talks are also underway to calm the situation.

Communities in the two districts are reported to be planning to avenge the deaths of the four leaders from the region.

The cattle rustlers from Ethiopia struck and stole livestock in Marsabit district last Thursday. At least 2,000 camels, 150 cows and 1,200 goats and sheep have been stolen by armed insurgents said to be numbering 1,000 suspected to have crossed over from Ethiopia. The Kenyan government has written a protest note to its counterpart in neighboring Ethiopia.

Source: Xinhua