Kenya: Ethnic conflict kills 48 people

At least 48 people were killed in a clash on August 21 between two hostile 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 in a series of feuds between the farming Pokomo and herding Orma tribes.

Local sources said the Pokomo attacked the Orma in retaliation for the Orma killing more than 100 of their own tribe. However, local officials said they had not yet found a direct cause for the conflict, but acknowledged that in the past, the two tribes had clashed many times due to disagreements over land and water resources.

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

According to VNA