UN says inter-communal clashes in northern Kenya leave 46 dead

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UN says inter-communal clashes in northern Kenya leave 46 dead

2012-01-07 07:53:58 GMT+7 (ICT)

NAIROBI, KENYA (BNO NEWS) -- Recent clashes between rival groups in northern Kenya have left at least 46 people, a United Nations (UN) official reported on Friday. Thousands more have been displaced.

The inter-communal clashes between the Borana and Gabra livestock herding communities around the northern Kenyan town of Moyale, which is located on the border with Ethiopia, have been linked to rivalry over pasture and cattle rustling. In addition to the killings, the clashes have reportedly displaced thousands of people.

Matthew Conway, spokesperson for the East African bureau of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which is based in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, described the situation as "cyclical inter-communal revenge attacks and violence between the communities."

"What appears to be motivating the violence is competition for land for grazing and livestock," said Conway, noting that the violence also follows the recent drought in the region in which pastoralist communities lost large numbers of their livestock due to the lack of pasture and the drying up of water sources.

The spokesman explained that the groups seem to be competing for land for grazing and conducting raids on each others herds of livestock in an effort to restock some of the animals they may have lost during the drought.

Clashes have also been reported between members of the Borana and Turkana communities in the central area of Isiolo.

Due to the violence and insecurity in the region, it has not been easy to access the areas. However the Kenyan Red Cross Society has been carrying out some relief work among those displaced.

"One of the things certainly that OCHA is calling for is greater provision of security and protection by Government authorities in these regions so that we can have access... to populations in need and so that they can also return to their areas of origin," said Conway, underlining the importance of the ongoing reconciliation efforts.

"Communities themselves are at the core of resolving this, but certainly greater attention need to be given by central Government authorities to rein in this violence and rein in the instigators of the violence," he added.

According to OCHA, at least 300 people died in similar violence in 2009. Hundreds were also reported killed in 2010 and 2011.

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