Kenya has opened talks with Ethiopia to contain fighting spilling across their shared border, after stray bullets and grenades began landing in Kenyan homes in the border town of Moyale.

Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja led a delegation of senior security officials to Moyale on Thursday to assess the situation and reassure residents. He said Kenya was in discussions with Ethiopia's government to resolve the clashes, while strengthening security in the affected areas.

Stray fire reaches Kenyan homes

Residents of the Somare, Sessi, Biashara, Lami and Heillu estates have reported stray bullets and grenades landing in Kenyan territory. Two people were struck by stray bullets on Wednesday, one near Moyale Police Station, and overnight fighting left houses and a vehicle in Lami estate riddled with bullet holes.

A border dispute behind the fighting

The clashes erupted in mid-October after a dispute over a Somali regional administration office and its flag in an area also claimed by Ethiopia's Oromia region. At least nine people were killed in the initial fighting, and around 30 injured people were treated at a hospital in Ethiopian Moyale.

The violence has forced tens of thousands of Ethiopians to cross into Kenya. The United Nations put the figure at about 36,000 on 27 October, and the Kenya Red Cross later reported it rising above 50,000. Many of the displaced are women and children, sheltering in temporary camps or with relatives.

Travel warning and stranded drivers

Britain's Foreign Office updated its advice on Friday, urging British nationals to avoid all but essential travel to Moyale town and within five kilometres. Truck drivers heading back to Kenya have been stranded along the Moyale–Addis Ababa highway for about two weeks, unable to continue their journeys.