NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 22 – Five people were killed in Mandera on Wednesday morning in apparent retaliatory attacks following the slaying of five other people on Monday.
The attacks occurred at Rhamu when attackers raided remote villages there at about 5am, according to police.
“Five people have been killed and there are three others who sustained injuries,” a local administrator declined to be quoted said.
Area provincial police Chief Philip Tuimur confirmed the killings but he did not offer further details.
On Monday, attackers believed to be from neighbouring Ethiopia shot and killed five people before escaping with heads of cattle.
Local Members of Parliament have condemned the incident and accused the government of laxity in providing security in the region.
The Monday attacks occurred at Banisa, about 200 kilometres from Mandera town.
The raid was blamed on members of the Garre community from Ethiopia who reportedly fled with more than 500 heads of cattle, according to complaints lodged with local administrators and police.
The Garre community lives both in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Those killed on Monday included three men, a woman and a six year old child who were all shot during the 8am attack.
Leaders from the region who addressed a press conference in Nairobi on Monday accused the government of failing to prevent the incident from occurring “despite having intelligence of the attack since last week.”
Mandera Central MP Abdikadir Mohamed said they were not surprised the attacks took place since they have been dealing with the issue for the last eight months.
He appealed to the government and the people of Northern Kenya to work together to maintain.
“The government must take responsibility of safeguarding its people. It must take serious issues to do with safety and security of Kenyans especially when the attacks are from a neighbouring country,” he told journalists at a press conference.
“We are also appealing to the people who live in those two areas. It’s really in their interest to keep the peace because deaths don’t help anybody,” he emphasized.
Mohamed said they were most disappointed with the security forces in the area who had been unable to stop the Kenyan trained Ethiopian militia who are being used to destabilise Northern Kenya instead of fighting the war in Somalia.
“Militias that were trained by the Kenyan government are being utilised now to destabilise the region. It cannot be left to continue,” he said.
Local leaders have expressed fears that as the country approaches the elections, the situation is bound to deteriorate unless appropriate measures are put in place.
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