Gunmen attack town as fresh Mandera clan rivalries erupt

Gunmen attacked Rhamu town, in Mandera North constituency, in an early Sunday morning raid in the ongoing bloody rivalry between the Degodia and Garre clans.

Mandera Senator Billow Kerrow, confirming the attack, faulted security agencies for complacency in the fresh round of hostilities.

"The army, General Service Unit, Rapid Deployment Unit, Police and Administration Police are in based in the town; yet artillery fire is going on in the town. It is inconceivable that they are unable to contain the situation." Senator Kerrow said in a statement.

"I want to take this early opportunity to condemn in the strongest terms possible the heavy fighting going on since early morning in Rhamu. Two nights ago, armed men attacked the town and injured three people. Last (Saturday) night, they attacked a truck entering the town and killed one person, injuring three others.

"This (Sunday) morning, they started a heavy artillery attack from three sides on the town from 6 am, and is still going on," Senator Kerrow said in a statement.

The Senator called on the government to take immediate actions to end the fighting.

"The government is aware that these attacks are committed by one side against another, in an attempt to escalate the longstanding political conflict between the Degodia and Garre clans.

"While efforts to bring peace between the two sides is ongoing, I urge the government to take immediate actions to end the fighting that has caused many casualties this (Sunday) morning," he said.