Ethnic clashes claims 4 more lives in Kenya

MANDERA, Kenya - Death toll from tribal clashes in Mandera County of northern Kenya has risen to 15 after four more people were killed in renewed attacks early on Sunday.

The killing of the four from the Degodia community occurred at Guraderow village in Guba location in Banisa district of Mandera West constituency bordering the Ethiopian border by suspected Garreh armed militia at about 8:30 am local time.

Ahmed Muhumed Hussein, an elder from Guba location said the attackers who were heavily armed and numbering 20 killed the four - A woman, a young boy and two men near a watering point in the area.

Hussein said another person was also injured in the attack that come a barely four days after 6 people from the Garreh clan were killed by the suspected Degodia bandits.

On Saturday, scores of houses were burnt in Mandera and Takaba towns as the a peace talk to end the bloody violence that erupted last week was led by Mandera County Commissioner Michael Tialal in Mandera County Council hall.

Speaking to Xinhua, the Banisa District Commissioner Samuel Martin however said those killed in the Sunday morning attack were only two people and one was injured.

"As local government officer who is in charge of security in the district, I can only confirm two people and another seriously injured on the thigh," Martin said on Sunday.

"We suspected the assailants to be militiamen from the Garreh clan were revenging for the killing of the people in Rhamu and Wajir prior in the week," he added.

Both Garre and Degodia have communal presence and have sophisticated armed militia in Ethiopia who has been used in clan fighting in the Horn of Africa country.

The fighting pitting the pastoralists Somali sub-clans of Garre and Degodia reignited on last Monday after suspected Garre clan militia believed to have crossed from the neigbouring Ethiopia killed six people, wounded three others and escaped with 500 herds of cattle after they raided a Degodia village in Banisa district in Mandera West constituency.

Hundreds of families from the warring clans have fled from far- flung areas dominated by their rival clan for fear of being caught in the recurring reprisal attacks.

The latest attack that comes as negotiation to settle the conflict was spearheaded by the government and the local religious leaders has heighten tension in the wake of the escalating killing that has political bearing.

Livestock herding is the main livelihood and source of income in northern and some parts of eastern Kenya, and the hike in cattle thefts threatens to ignite cross-community reprisals and raids that could set the stage for a surge in ethnic fighting in the region.

Clashes between the rival cattle herding pastoralists in the region are common, with herders often carrying guns to protect their animals, but the recent fighting has been unusually heavy.