MOMBASA, Kenya, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people were killed and several others injured in renewed ethnic clashes in Tana River county in southeast Kenya after a week of calm, relief agency and police said on Friday.
Kenya Red Cross Society (KCRS) officials said those killed in the retaliatory clashes are from the Pokomo community who killed 52 people from Orma community pastoralist last month.
"We have eight men, two women and a child killed in fresh attacks after the two warring communities entered into clashes this morning," Sadiq Kakai, in Charge of Disaster of KRCS, told Xinhua by telephone on Friday.
Several others were also injured and some houses torched in fresh retaliation attacks, Kakai added.
On Aug. 22, clashes at Rekete village, Tarasaa, killed 52 Orma villagers, mostly of whom are women and children.
About 100 raiders from the Pokomo, armed with machetes, bows and arrows and spears, attacked the village and set houses ablaze.
The clashes erupted when the Orma cattle had strayed into farmlands owned by Pokomos and destroyed crops.
While Pokomo accuse the Orma of allowing livestock to encroach on their farms, the Orma complain that Pokomo's farmlands are too close to the banks of the Tana River and prevent the herders from using the river to water their cattle.
Regional police commander, Aggrey Adoli, confirmed the attacks on Friday, saying the police have been dispatched in the area to contain the situation.
"I cannot give you the numbers of people killed but our officers are on the ground to collect details," Adoli told Xinhua by telephone.
Last Sunday, tension was once again high in Tana Delta after a Pokomo herdman was killed and two others injured in fresh clashes that erupted in Tana River County.
Trouble started after a group of Orma herders confronted a Pokomo herd boy's grazing goats and fled with them. The boy reported the matter to his father who also alerted other villagers and begun pursuing the attackers.
The latest attacks brought the death toll to 71 since the tribal clashes began last month.
Kakai said the attacks had stoked tension in the area with fears of another attack, adding that over 6,000 people had been displaced in the attacks and were living in makeshift shelters.
"We have residents, mostly women and children, still living in camps.They are not willing to return to their home for fears of attacks," Kakai said.
Local lawmaker Dhado Godhana was questioned by police on Thursday afternoon over last month's violence in Tana River. He had denied any involvement in the ethnic violence.
Livestock herding is the main livelihood and source of income in northern and some parts of eastern Kenya. But the hike in cattle thefts had triggered a surge in ethnic discord in the region.
To protect their animals, herders often carry guns with them, but the recent fighting has been unusually heavy.
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