At least 15 people were killed on Sunday in ongoing clashes between
two rival Kenyan Somali clans in northern Kenya near the
Ethiopian border, local authorities have confirmed.
"The number
of dead so far stands at 15 but the fighting is still on and we have not
recovered all the bodies," Salaah Maalim of the Mandera County
Government told Anadolu Agency by phone from the area of conflict.
"We expect it to rise," he said.
A
militia belonging to one clan is said to have crossed into the Kenyan
side of the border and mounted a dawn raid terrorizing the Rhamu town
for more than four hours.
Residents say there was heavy mortar shelling and gunfight in the town, which is only a few meters from the Ethiopian border.
"For
almost four hours there were shooting and explosions in our town," Aden
Bulow, a 38-year-old resident of Rhamu, told AA by phone.
"A relative of mine was among the injured," he added.
Aden is now among hundreds of residents who had fled the town.
According
to one resident, Faiza Zeyrun, his uncle who had just opened his shop
for the day had been attacked by the marauding gunmen.
Kenya Red
Cross Society said it is yet to confirm the death toll but its Secretary
General said some of the injured have been airlifted to Mandera town
hospital some 200 kilometers away.
"We are still assessing the
situation and getting information as it comes from the ground and will
issue a final death toll when all is calm," Abbas Gullet told AA.
Pasture, politics
and county boundaries have fermented tension between the Garee and
Degodia clans for decades, leading to on-again off-again fighting.
A
meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta in June called for a
ceasefire between the warring clans but hostilities continues to flare
up.
ANADOLU AGENCY
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