Kenyan clan wars claim 30
2005-01-17 09:21
Nairobi - As many as 30 people have been killed and dozens more wounded as three weeks of inter-clan fighting continued at the weekend in northeastern Kenya along the Somali border, police said on Monday.
At least two people were killed in weekend attacks in Kenya's Mandera district after a truce agreed to last week by clan elders collapsed, they said.
"Up to 30 people have been killed since the beginning of the month in attacks and counter-attacks," a police officer in Mandera told AFP.
In Nairobi, national police spokesperson Jaspher Ombati confirmed the deaths in the weekend attacks, but could confirm only 23 deaths in total in the fighting.
The fighting pits gunmen from the Murule clan against their rival Garre clan, both of Somali origin, over the control of water and pastures in the dustbowl region.
Inter-clan clashes in the region are part of a long-standing feud between clans in Kenya and Somalia. Police have said they are boosting their presence in the Mandera region to prevent further attacks
.
- AFP