Seven killed in clashes between Sudanese refugees and Turkana

Seven people have been killed in ongoing clashes between Sudanese refugees and the local Turkana in northwestern Kenya, which erupted last week over a cattle-rustling incident. Sudanese refugees living in the Kakuma refugee camp had stolen a cow from the Turkana and this led to escalated fighting between the two groups, Emmanuel Nyabera, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), told IRIN. Five refugees and two Turkana were killed. To escape the fighting, over 2,000 people have relocated from the north of Kakuma camp (known as Kakuma 3) to a central area (Kakuma 1), which is considered more secure but has led to overcrowding and sanitation problems. The UN and implementing partners have also been unable to give out food rations since Friday as it was impossible to mobilise the refugees to go to the distribution points due to their "anxiety and fear", Nyabera said. A team of five government, police and UNHCR officials went to Kakuma on Tuesday morning "to try to reorganise security arrangements in the camp", he said. They planned to hold negotiations with local refugee and Turkana leaders as well as local officials to find a way of restoring order. Describing the situation in the camp as "very tense" on Tuesday, he said the fighting had "become personal", and it was now based on a desire for revenge. UNHCR estimates that there are currently about 65,000 Sudanese refugees living in Kakuma camp. Meanwhile, the violence has reportedly had a spill-over effect into the town of Lokichokio, the launch-pad for much of the humanitarian effort into south Sudan. On Tuesday, a person thought to be Sudanese, threw a grenade into a group of local Turkanas in the town, humanitarian sources said. Several people were injured in the incident.