Northeastern regional coodinator Mohamud Saleh and Mandera county commissioner Alex nkoyo in Mandera town on Thursday. Photo/STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Thursday, June 18, 2015
At least nine people were killed in fresh clashes between Garre and Degodia clans at the Mandera-Wajir border on Wednesday.
The attacks resumed on Tuesday when five herders from Elmole village in Banisa were killed in a village in Ethiopia.
The nine were killed in a morning attack by gunmen who raided Chiroquo village in Malka Mari, said Banisa deputy county commissioner Samuel Mwati.
The killing of the three children, two elderly and four young men may have been retaliatory, he told KNA on phone.
It is suspected that the Tuesday killing of a man, his three children and a relative was by gunmen from the Degodia clan.
Among those killed was the son of Elmole assistant chief Adan Moulu.
Seven others, including the children's mother were injured in the 6am attack at Wari Walo village, some 10 kilometers from the Kenya border.
Three, who sustained gun shot wounds, were taken to Mandera County Referral Hospital.
Security personnel have been deployed to the area, Mwati said, urging residents to focus on fighting al Shabaab.
Mandera county commissioner Alex Nkoyo regretted that the clashes have flared up after eight months.
He told KNA at least 15 people have been killed in two days days of inter-clan clashes at the border.
The Tuesday attack had nothing to do with Kenyans living on the border, Northeastern regional coordinator Mohamud Saleh however said.
Addressing the media at a security meeting in Mandera, Saleh quashed reports that bandits raided the area.
He said the attack occurred 30km inside Ethiopia and asked residents to stop peddling rumours that can heighten tension.
Members of the county assembly, elders and other officials have embarked on peace talks.