Seven men were killed on Tuesday in fresh attacks in Banissa, Mandera West, as interclan violence reared its ugly head.
The dawn raid on Doomal village was staged by an armed militia allegedly from the Degodia clan. The village is inhabited by the Garre clan.
So serious was the situation that county leaders swiftly hired a plane and flew to the scene of the attack. They moved in to restore calm and stop further confrontation and bloodshed.
They later met with security officers led by county commissioner Onesmus Kyatha. The meeting convened by county commissioner Onesmus Kithya was attended by Governor Ali Roba and MP Abdi Mude, among other leaders.
Roba pleaded called for calm and told leaders to be peace crusaders.
“Peace is good for development. We don’t need such incidents here. I urge other leaders to preach peace,” he said.
There were conflicting claims to what might have triggered the latest incident, with some residents blaming it on land disputes. Others said the militia’s sole purpose was to create tension and disunity among the two communities.
Northeastern regional coordinator Mohamed Birik said the attack was retaliatory, citing an earlier attack in Ethiopia that had left two people dead and 100 camels stolen.
“The anger spilt into Kenya where they have killed at least seven locals in retaliation. We’ve deployed more security personnel to ensure calm and justice,” he said.
Birik said there had been hostilities for the past two weeks after the Ethiopia raid.
Survivors admitted to different hospitals with gunshot wounds said the attackers moved from one house to the other from 4am. They were targeting men.
Lafey MP Abdi Mude said the two clans had resolved to live in harmony and regretted that some people were out to breach their peace.
“It’s true we’ve lost seven people at the hands of armed militia. We’re trying to calm the situation and make sure we don’t have more deaths and injuries,” he said.
“As leaders, we’ll do everything humanly possible to make sure this incident doe not trigger renewed interclan clashes that we witnessed a few years ago. We’ll work with the security apparatus and engage the community with a view of finding a lasting solution.”
The incident happened barely a day after politicians, led by Governor Roba, urged the neighbouring communities to coexist peacefully. They gathered in Takaba town for a fundraiser in aid of an Islamic Madrasa.
“We want to tell you that, as leaders, we are united. We all would want to see a prospering Mandera devoid of clan clashes and insecurity. Let’s all learn to preach peace and love each other because Mandera belongs to us all,” Roba said.
The leaders pledged to remain united and urged residents to shun conflicts. The county was the epicentre of bloody clan clashes from 2011 to 2013. Several people were killed, hundreds of others displaced and property destroyed.
In June, Roba said the previous clashes had made it difficult to run the county and implement development projects.
(Edited by F'Orieny)