Rival tribes clash in Kenya
2007-10-19 20:10
Nairobi - Rival Kenyan tribes clashed on Friday, killing at least two civilians and wounding several others in a Rift Valley district beset by ethnic rivalries and fights, police said.
Dozens of houses were torched when suspected Kipsigis youth stole livestock from Kikuyu rivals, sparking clashes in Molo district, about 170km northwest of Nairobi, Rift Valley's Deputy Police Commander James Ngului said.
"Those admitted in hospital suffered injuries inflicted by arrows. Some of them are in a stable condition but there are those who are in a critical condition," Ngului said.
"Most of those wounded are young men aged between 18 and 25, who were attacked as they tried to protect their cattle from being driven away by the raiders."
Kenya's Rift Valley has been a theatre of politically motivated inter-tribe battles in the recent years since they first erupted in early 1990s, claiming hundreds of lives and displacing tens of thousands.
Political tension has been rising in the east African nation ahead of December general elections when President Mwai Kibaki will be seeking re-election for a second and final term in office.