ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of people killed in recent clashes between ethnic Oromo and Somali communities now stands at 78, an Ethiopian official said on Tuesday.
The conflict, which occurred on Dec. 14 in Hawi Godina and Daro Labo districts in West Hararghe zone of Oromia regional state, was triggered by the death a prominent ethnic Oromo individual, said Negeri Lencho, of the Ethiopia Government Communications Affairs Office.
"On Dec. 14, ethnic Oromos returning from collecting food aid was ambushed on their way by gunmen thought to come from villages inhabited by ethnic Somalis, leaving 29 dead," Lencho told Xinhua.
The ambush also resulted in the burning of hundreds of houses and theft of the food aid. The area is hit hard by drought.
"Relatives of a prominent local person killed in the ambush carried out revenge attacks, killing at least 49 ethnic Somalis living in nearby settlements," Lencho said.
He said the government is working with religious figures and elders as well as regional officials to calm the situation.
On Dec. 11, a clash between ethnic Oromo protesters and soldiers in Chelenko area, East Hararghe zone, Oromia regional state is also thought to have aggravated tensions.
The protesters were protesting deadly raids allegedly carried out by police from the Somali regional state.
Sixteen people died in the clash, causing widespread anger in Ethiopia's Oromia regional state.
Oromia and Somali regional states 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, but its implementation has been stalled with both sides accusing each other of non-compliance with the referendum results.
Fierce clashes along the Oromia-Somali boundary since September has spilled into ethnic violence, leaving scores of people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.
The unrest is fueling fears about security in Ethiopia, east Africa's biggest economy.
