CISA NEWS REPORT
MANDERA, June 25, 2013 (CISA) -At least 15 people were killed and 20 more seriously injured on June 23 at Choroko, Mandera County, along the Ethiopia and Somalia border. Among the victims were 6 women and 5 children.
Gunmen armed with grenades attacked a camp set up for those displaced by months of fighting in the region between the rival Garre and Degodia communities. Dozens of tents were torched and various villages were targeted by the armed group. A policeman was injured and the vehicle of a District Commissioner damaged in the attack. The District Commissioner, Samuel Mwati was on a peace mission in the area.
Sunday’s attack came after Friday‘s clashes in the same area between the two communities that left nine dead and hundreds displaced. Police have deployed agents throughout the area to ease tension.
No group has claimed the attack, but local security sources point a finger to a group of around fifty gunmen from neighboring Ethiopia who are suspected of receiving backing from local politicians.
A series of meetings have taken place in Nairobi between local leaders and representatives of the Commission for National Cohesion and Integration in a bid to reconcile the two communities battling over territory.
Apart from the inter-community violence that heightened since last year, Mandera is at a threat of frequent attacks against security forces, attributed to Somali Al Shabaab insurgents.
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