NAIROBI, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government has vowed to restore peace in troubled Mount Elgon district in western region where escalating clashes over fertile land have killed 144 people and displaced over 61,000 others.

    National Security Minister John Michuki said in a statement on Tuesday that more than 280 warriors have been arrested in the clashes-hit district. A contingent of security officers had been deployed to flush out the militia from their hideouts in the forest.

    "The government has taken measures to end these violent clashes and ensure that normalcy returns," Michuki said in a statement.

    The militia responsible for the killings has been launching raids from their cells in Mt Elgon forest, during which they loot property, shoot civilians and torch houses.

    The statement said 13 other warriors had been killed while 23 were injured in separate gun battles with the police. Police were also hunting for 80 other suspects who had been identified as part of militiamen responsible for launching gangland style attacks in the area.

    The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) said more than 61,000 people have been displaced following clashes caused by a dispute overland rights that erupted in late December 2006.

    "Continued clashes in Mt. Elgon have led to the displacement of over 61,752 people (about 10,292 families). More people are moving away from their homes due to increased clashes and are settling mainly in market centers, churches, schools, with their kinsmen or with relatives in nearby locations," the KRCS said in a statement.

    Local residents say the escalating clashes broke out early late last year when people displaced from their ancestral land attacked communities now occupying their land.