Kenya tribal clashes kill 6

Kenya tribal clashes kill 6

Fighting over grazing land between two communities in Kenya has killed six people including three children, and has forced hundreds of families to flee.

Officials and aid workers say the clashes that flared up on December 26 has engulfed several villages in Kenya's far north near the border with Ethiopia, prompting authorities to deploy security forces.

So far, more than 20 people, including the six on Wednesday, have been killed in the towns of Moyale and Isiolo, while hundreds have been displaced.

"We have deployed security personnel but the two groups must stop fighting, killing each other," said Issah Nakoru, the regional commissioner for Upper Eastern Province.

Nakoru said three of the six were children, but did not give other details.

Out of reach

Aid workers said they had been unable to reach most of the villages because the two groups drawn from the Gabra and Borana communities were still engaged in fierce fighting.

"Hundreds of families have fled six villages in the Moyale town. We cannot access them because fighting is going on. We believe more people have been killed and many injured", said a worker with the Kenya Red Cross in the area.

Grazing land is highly valued by Kenya's pastoralist communities, and they have often clashed in the past.

Peace keeping

Kenyan security forces struggle to keep peace due to the vast, harsh terrain.
Residents said politicians were doing too little to stop the clashes.

"Some community leaders, both in Kenya and Ethiopia, are responsible for the killing we are now witnessing in Moyale ... Our government is hopeless, incapable or unwilling to arrest people who are behind these clashes," said a resident of the Oda village who had been displaced by the fighting.

REUTERS/Ehimen/Cokey