Scores feared dead in renewed inter-clan clashes in Mandera
Northeastern Regional Coordinator Mohamed Saleh. He denied reports that inter-clan attacks reported on Tuesday happened on Kenyan soil. On Wednesday there were renewed fights between the Garre and Degodia believed to be a retaliation for the Tuesday attacks. Scores were feared dead. PHOTO | MANASE OTSIALO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Marothley MCA Mohamed Abdi said gunmen from the Garre clan attacked their Degodia counterparts in the renewed fighting.
- Tension was still high Wednesday evening at Choroqo Village in Banisa Sub-County where 10 bodies had been collected by 2pm.
- The attacks are thought to be retaliatory after five people from the Garre clan were killed on Tuesday near the Kenya-Ethiopia border.
- The attacks happened even as North Eastern Regional Coordinator Mohamed Saleh was holed up in a meeting with top security officials from the county.
Scores of people are feared dead while others have been injured following day-long fighting between warring clans in Mandera County.
Tension was still high Wednesday evening in Choroqo Village in Banisa Sub-County where 10 bodies had been collected by 2pm, according to a police officer on the ground who spoke to the Nation.
Marothley MCA Mohamed Abdi said gunmen from the Garre clan attacked their Degodia counterparts in the renewed fighting.
“Most of the people killed are herdsmen and information shows that more than 30 could also have sustained serious injuries,” Mr Abdi said.
The attacks are thought to be retaliatory after five people from the Garre clan were killed on Tuesday near the Kenya-Ethiopia border.
“We are worried that things might get out of hand and we call on the government to act fast,” said the ward representative, who was heading to the scene of the clashes.
A police officer who spoke to the Nation from Banisa said police were still waiting for reinforcements from Mandera Town, which is about 120 kilometres away from the scene of the clashes.
The attacks happened even as Northeastern Regional Coordinator Mohamed Saleh was holed up in a meeting with top security officials from the county.
Earlier in the day, Mr Saleh had denied that Tuesday’s attack had taken place on Kenyan soil.
Last year, police said the conflict pitting the Garre against the Degodia was a spillover from similar skirmishes between the two communities in Ethiopia.
