48 DEAD IN KENYAN CLASHES OVER LAND

MOMBASA, Kenya — Hundreds of farmers attacked a village, killing at least 48 people in southeastern Kenya in an escalation of clashes between the farming and pastoral communities over land and resources, an official said yesterday.
Some people were burned to death in their houses, while others were hacked to death or shot with arrows, said Tana River region police chief Joseph Kavoo.
The majority of those killed were women and children, said area resident Said Mgeni. He said the attacks began yesterday at dawn when a group of about 200 people belonging to the Pokomo ethnic group raided a village in the Riketa area and torched all the houses belonging to the Orma, a pastoralist community.

• Three Orma men and a woman who survived the attack with wounds to the head, stomach and hands said the attackers were also armed with guns. The four were admitted to the Malindi district hospital.
• Ali Algi, who had injuries on his head and a broken hand, said that they were attacked by hundreds of men.
• Algi said that he witnessed men, women and children being shot and then beheaded and others being locked and burned inside their houses.
• "I witnessed the whole ugly scene. They shot us and then attacked us with pangas to ensure that we are completely dead," he said.
• A witness, Mahmud Mohamed, who escorted the four to the hospital, said that grazing land was not an issue, and said the clashes are politically instigated.
• Mohamed claimed that they had reported the matter to police about the planned attack but nothing was done.
• Mohammad alleged that 56 people were killed among them 30 women, 16 children and 10 men. He also claimed that about 60 cows were slaughtered and thrown into River Tana

A member of parliament representing a constituency in the district, Dhado Godana, said the retaliatory attacks could not be controlled on time, since the area is hard to reach.
"We had planned to meet and resolve the issue since that area is prone to conflict and the same may spill over to nearby areas," said Godana.
The legislator attributed the frequent clashes to an influx of foreigners from Somalia in the area, and also the fact that residents in the area own illegal arms which they use for their survival.

Source: AP, Jamaica Observer