Kenyan and
Ethiopian authorities met Sunday evening to solve a standoff at the main border
in Turkana following the killing of at least 20 fishermen in the area.
At least 15 boats,
a gun and other apparatus were recovered from the Omo River after the deadly attack
in Lopeimukay and Lotiira areas.
Local officials
said some of the recovered bodies had been taken to the local mortuary and the
search for more is ongoing.
Up to 20 people
remain unaccounted for after the Saturday evening attack by the Desanach
gunmen.
The meeting
concluded with calls for more regular ones to solve any standoff.
The attack on
Kenyan fishermen came after an earlier one where three Ethiopians had been
killed, officials said.
This prompted the
Dasnach group to retaliate. Witnesses said some of the Kenyan fishermen drowned
in the drama.
The attack has
caused concerns among locals.
On Sunday
afternoon, the National Police Service said it was probing “an alleged clash
between Turkana and Dasanach fishermen at Lopemukat Common Waters” along the
border, while Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen acknowledged “a problem”
in the area and said “some Kenyans were harmed”.
“Some of our
citizens are unaccounted for and we are working with the Ethiopian government
and the Kenya Defence Forces to solve this border issue. There should be no
cause for alarm… calm has returned in the area,” Murkomen said.
Interior Principal
Secretary Raymond Omollo said the attack happened near the border on Ethiopia’s
side.
“Ignore the
numbers being peddled; that is not the correct position,” Omollo added.
“We will share official information once we confirm everything.”
Tension remained
high in the area with more security personnel being deployed there.
Turkana North MP
Ekwom Nabuin said they had disturbing reports of the killing of more than 20
fishermen in the Todonyang area of Lake Turkana by the Dassanech of Ethiopia.
“The numbers could
be higher. The situation is extremely bad, rescuers must move fast to secure
our people. The massacre is happening on Kenyan soil which is occupied by well-armed
Ethiopian militias (Dassanech),” he said in a post.
There were reports
of more victims missing and efforts to trace and confirm the same were ongoing
on Sunday.
The area is poor
infrastructure wise. The river where the incident happened extends from
Ethiopia where the fishermen had ventured.
The tension had
been growing in the area in the past weeks following the sighting of gunmen
from Ethiopia. They were seeking revenge, officials said.
A 24-year-old
herder was shot and killed in an attack by gunmen on Wednesday evening in
Merikuka village in Kokuro Location near Loyoro Fishing Site at the
Kenya-Ethiopia border, Turkana County.
The body of Kai
Ebu was found with a gunshot wound to the head.
Ebu was grazing
his calves in a grazing field along the bank of the Loyoro Rive when he was
targeted and killed.
The motive of the
attack is yet to be known.
Police and
villagers said he was attacked by raiders from neighbouring Ethiopia who
had been seen there earlier on.
The attackers
escaped soon after the incident.
Multi-agency teams
visited the scene and announced efforts to trace the attackers were ongoing.
The area has been
facing different forms of insecurity from raiders.
The raiders who
target livestock include those from neighbouring countries.
As part of efforts
to tame the practice, the government launched an operation covering other
counties including Turkana. This has seen some of the raiders escape to Ethiopia.
They usually stage
attacks in Kenya and escape.
Launched in
February 2023, Operation Maliza Uhalifu North Rift is a government security
initiative that targeted escalating banditry, cattle rustling, and violence in
nine counties including Baringo, Turkana, Samburu, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot,
Marsabit, Laikipia, Isiolo, and Meru.
Hot spot areas in
these counties were designated as “Disturbed” and “Dangerous,” in the operation
that brought together the National Police Service (NPS) and the Kenya Defence
Forces (KDF) in a coordinated effort to restore peace and stability in the
region.
