Kenya: Ethnic conflict kills 48 people

At least 48 people were killed in a clash on August 21 between two rival ethnic groups in Kenya.

According to local police, the conflict occurred in the coastal district of Tana River, 300km southeast of the capital Nairobi, between the Pokomo and Orma tribes when a group of Pokomo people attacked the Orma's living area.

Among the dead were 31 women and 11 children. Many wooden houses were also burned down.

This is the latest bad incident in the history of hostilities between the farming Pokomo tribe and the herding Orma people.

Local sources said the Pokomo attacked the Orma in revenge for the Orma killing over 100 of their own people. However, local officials said they had not yet found the direct cause of the conflict, but admitted that in the past, the two ethnic groups had clashed many times due to disagreements over land use and water resources.

In 2001, a series of conflicts between the two tribes in Song Tana district killed at least 130 people./.

According to VNA