20 feared dead in ethnic clashes in Kenya

MOMBASA - At least 20 people were feared dead in renewed ethnic clashes in Tana River in southeast Kenya, police said Monday.

Regional Commissioner Samuel Kilele told journalists in Mombasa that 6 police officers were among the dead in the latest clashes between two communities over rights to grazing land and water resources.

Humanitarian agencies have rushed to the scene to try to rescue the injured.

The incident came barely a week after 13 people were killed and several others injured in Tana River county.

Last month, 52 people were killed in the ethnic clashes involving Pokomo community and Orma community.

While Pokomo accused Orma of allowing livestock to encroach on their farms and of destroying their crops, Orma complained that Pokomo farmlands are too close to the banks of the Tana River and prevent the herders from using the river to water their cattle.