from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Bureau
NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – AT least eight people have been killed following communal clashes in south-central Kenya.
The blood has been shed in the sub-county of Bangale in the Tana River county.
Rival clans from the Waradei and Malakote communities have been clashing in the area since late September over a land dispute. The conflict is linked to relocations following flooding in the region.
The fight heightened this past Friday when community members raided a local police station demanding justice for the killings.
“It’s a difficult time in Tana River county,” said Amina Dika Abdullahi, the county’s women representative in Parliament.
She added, “The recent violence in Bangale and Nanighi has brought us profound pain and loss.”
Abdullahi passed her condolences to those who had lost their lives in the conflict.
The legislator appealed for the warring parties to embrace dialogue.
“Let us unite in understanding, for it is only through collaboration that we can heal and build a brighter future for our community.” she said.
Authorities were likely to deploy additional security personnel to the area and could implement movement-restrictive measures to restore peace.
Tana River country, named after Kenya’s longest river, is over 80 percent Muslim.
In 2012, in the worst violent incident in Kenya since the post-election crisis in 2007, no less 52 people were killed in ethnic violence in the county after conflict between the Orma and Pokomo communities.
– CAJ News