Calm returns to border following weekend attack

Calm is returning to Kenya's border with Ethiopia, following a weekend attack by suspected Ethiopian armed bandits, in which three people were killed.

Kenya police spokesman King'ori Mwangi told IRIN that a group of 40 people wearing Ethiopian military uniforms crossed into Kenya on Saturday and attacked a village known as Anan, in Moyale District, before fleeing back into Ethiopia.

Mwangi said he could not determine whether the group consisted of members of the Ethiopian military or bandits dressed as military men. He noted, however, that the police were investigating the circumstances of the incident, before an official statement could be issued.

Situated in Kenya's remote and arid North Eastern Province, Moyale and other surrounding districts have for many years been prone to insecurity and fighting between its many ethnic groups -Borana [the largest], Rendille, Gabbra, Burji, Somali and Garii -mainly over economic resources such as pasture and water.

Moyale residents have often accused members of both the Ethiopian armed forces and the Ethiopian rebel Oromo Liberation Front of mounting attacks in Kenya side, abducting, torturing and killing people they accuse of sympathising with either side.

Media reports said tension had been high following this weekend's incident, with local residents fearing similar attacks. Mwangi, however, said calm had been restored, and police had been deployed in the area.

An Ethiopian embassy official in Nairobi told IRIN he could not comment on the issue as he did not have "any tangible evidence" regarding the incident. "I heard the news itself on the radio. So far, I have not heard any confirmation. There is very bad communication in this area. We don't have any tangible evidence," he said.