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Turkana man killed in shoot-out with police

A Turkana man was killed on Thursday evening in skirmishes with anti-riot police just outside the Kakuma refugee camp in northwestern Kenya, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said. Local Turkana had reportedly been trying to loot a shop outside the camp, when the shoot-out occurred, UNHCR spokesman Emmanuel Nyabera told IRIN. Another man was arrested and two AK-47 rifles seized. Fighting between the Turkana and Sudanese refugees in the camp erupted last week, following a cattle rustling incident, which led to the deaths of 12 people. About 90 regular police and 27 anti-riot police were sent by the Kenyan government to help restore law and order in the camp. About 36,000 have been displaced within the camp due to the unrest. The numbers of people overnighting in public buildings such as schools and churches had risen to about 14,000 by Friday, as they were drawn by distributions of free food rations, Nyabera told IRIN. Some of the Sudanese had begun to return to their homes in the northern section of Kakuma camp on Thursday, but had stopped due to the shoot-out, he said, adding that the atmosphere camp remained "tense".

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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