At least 15 people have been killed in a grenade attack in a remote village in north-east Kenya, near the borders of Somalia and Ethiopia, according to the Kenya Red Cross and local officials.
More than 20 people were injured in the attack about 18 miles from the town of Banisa, in Mandera county. It follows fighting last week between two clans in the same area – Degodia and Gari – which left at least six people dead. Hundreds are reported to be fleeing.
Police have now deployed more officers to the region. An officer in Mandera was quoted by AFP news agency as saying: “Those killed were in one of the IDP (internally displaced people) camps where people displaced in recent attacks have been staying.”
No group has so far come forward to say it carried out the attack.
Community leader Ibrahim Hussein, who has been taking part in attempts to defuse the violence, appealed to both clans to lay down their arms.
“We will not allow people, particularly women, children, the elderly to be killed in a senseless manner,” he told the BBC.
The epicentre of the fighting is about 500 miles from the capital Nairobi, a remote area in which residents usually rely on vigilante groups for security. Many homes have weapons to deter invaders, while herders often carry guns to protect their livestock as there is almost no police presence.
“More than 20 people have lost their lives, hundreds are fleeing their homes, the police and the military are just watching, they are doing nothing,” Ibrahim Issack, a resident of Mandera said.
