Scores killed in Kenyan clashes

At least 32 people were killed in ethnic clashes Monday in southeast Kenya, a Red Cross official said.



"I counted at least 32 people dead, among them are seven police officers," Caleb Kilande, a Red Cross official at the scene, told AFP.

The clashes broke out Monday in Kilelengwani village in southeastern Kenya, in an area that has been rocked by fighting for several weeks.

"Tensions remain high in the area, but the fighting has stopped," said Kilande in the early afternoon.

The Red Cross earlier said the village was attacked by over 300 people and houses were burned.

"Even the bodies have not been removed from the ground... the situation is getting dangerous, something needs to be done urgently," Kenya Red Cross chief Abbas Gullet said in a statement.

Much of the violence which has occurred in recent weeks has taken place between pastoral and farming communities. Analysts have noted that violence has flared over the course of the past several election lead-ups: Kenya heads to the polls in six months.


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Source: AFP, SBS

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