TANA RIVER CLASHES

By EMMANUEL BOAZ

68 people Riket village in Tana delta were yesterday killed. Many of which are women and children. Speaking outside the provincial commissioner’s (pc`s) office, the councilor of Tanariver who also doubles up as the chairman of the council of tanariver ward Mr Salim Ngolo said that the 200 villagers were attacked during the night by an outlawed group of Pokomos. Their houses locked from outside before they were set ablaze and those who attempted to escape were sliced into pieced. “This is a peaceful village 40 kilometers away from where the clashes happened between the pastoralists and farmersit is a day of great sorrow because 200 villagers lost their homes and 500 livestock were all murdered by the gang of around 100 Pokomos. I have come to the pc`s office in order to give him the full details of the situation in the ground in order for him to help,” Mr Ngolo said. “There is a hidden agenda of the illegal group spreading the war all over Tana River County and they want to involve the whole community the government should come in and give a helping hand,” he added. Coast province commissioner Samuel Kilele said that he is yet to get the full details on the situation because his officers have not reached the area yet. He has GSU and Aps have been deployed in the area. “The attack took place in an area that is swampy so it has taken time for our officers on the ground to reach the place. Our officers have been forced to go back to Tarasaa and find another root to Ricket, from what I know it is a conflict and I do not have an idea of what has happened,” he said. “We had a very good meeting last time and everybody agreed to keep peacethe locals were advised to come together and talk, whereby they came to a conclusion with village elders that a Sh 10,000 fine for those who kill livestock and those who feed crops to livestock.The whole problem is not about government providing security but about the villagers revenging, “The way forward is to conduct peace forums with the clashing communities,” He added This incident comes barely two weeks after there were skirmishes in the Kau village in tanariver delta that left 110 families homeless, 190 heads of cattle dead.

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