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30 hurt in more Mandera fighting

MANDERA, October 18 – Several houses were set ablaze on Friday night as interclan continued relentlessly in Mandera, despite a dusk to dawn curfew placed on the town.

Red Cross Communications Officer Titus Mung`ou told Capital News in a telephone interview on Saturday that more than 30 people suffered minor injuries in the chaos.

“The two clans (Garre and Murulle) were fighting until late in the evening. We have been informed that at least three to four villages were torched. Houses have been burned on both sides of the clans that are fighting,” he said.

Mr Mung’ou has urged the government to effect a temporary deployment of permanent security personnel in the area as well as vigorous peace building efforts, spearheaded by area Members of Parliament (MPs) and village elders, to curb the violence.

“Perhaps having that sense of administration and security forces on the ground and also the leaders themselves bringing together the elders and talking to them from time to time, instead of allowing these small things to spark fights, will help.”

The Mandera Central District Commissioner (DC) Francis Lenyangume has held a second meeting with clan leaders to discuss ways of quelling the clashes, which were sparked by an attack on a water point in Jaldesa location, where one person died and more than 1,200 heads of cattle were stolen.

Residents said that the two communities were fighting over the control of the border town, which is largely inhabited by members of the Murulle community.

There was more trouble on Tuesday when over 100 families were displaced from their homes by raging floods. Those displaced have been putting up at the Komor area near the town, which was invaded by Garre youth who ordered them out.

The chaos has forced aid organisations to suspend humanitarian and relief operations for almost 6,000 people who were displaced by the flash floods.
 
“The Red Cross and other organisations that are concerned with relief work cannot proceed at the moment”, Mr Mung’ou told Capital News. 

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