SUMMARY

The Gabra (sometimes spelled Gabbra) is a nomadic tribe numbering between 30 000 and 35 000. Originating in southern Ethiopia, the group today lives on both sides of the Ethiopia-Kenya border. In Ethiopia, the Gabra inhabit the Ethiopian highlands of Dirre, while in Kenya they occupy lowland territory east of Lake Turkana, along the edge of the Chalbi Desert. The Gabras territory is bordered by the Boran to the north, the Somali to the east and the Rendille to the south.

The group has a mixed-livestock economy consisting of camels, cattle, sheep, and goats. The camel is most central to the Gabras way of life and defending them from droughts and rustling are some of the main problems facing the group. Recurring droughts have since the late 1990s hit the Gabra hard, and it is estimated that up to 80 per cent of domestic animals have succumbed to hunger or thirst. The lack of water and pasture has forced the group to move in on rival groups territories, causing tension and clashes. Furthermore, rustling, while being an age-old practise among the groups in the region, has taken on a more violent nature in recent times, fuelled by an influx of guns from armed conflicts in Ethiopia, southern Sudan, Uganda and Somalia.

The Gabra have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.