Kenya: Ethnic conflict leaves 48 dead.

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 people of the Pokomo tribe and the Orma tribe when a group of Pokomo people attacked an Orma settlement.

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

This is another terrible incident in the history of animosity between the Pokomo tribe, who specialize in farming, and the Orma people, who specialize in animal husbandry.

Local sources say the Pokomo attacked the Orma in retaliation for the Orma having previously killed over 100 members of the tribe. However, local officials say the direct cause of the conflict has not yet been determined, but acknowledge that the two tribes have clashed numerous times in the past due to disagreements over land use and water resources.

In 2001, a series of conflicts between the two tribes in Song Tana district resulted in at least 130 deaths.

According to VNA