At least 14 killed in clashes over water

At least 14 people were killed and another 2,000 displaced from their homes in the Mai Mahiu area of Nakuru district in western Kenya following violent clashes between two ethnic communities over water, government sources said on Monday. The violence erupted on Friday when members of the Maasai community, who are mainly pastoralists, vandalised water pipes belonging to a member of the Kikuyu group, the sources said. The Maasai had complained that Kikuyu farmers were drawing water from the Ewaso Kedong River to irrigate their farms, leaving them without water for their cattle. According to residents contacted by telephone, the Kikuyu farmers retaliated by attacking Maasai herdsmen, triggering fierce fighting between the two communities, and forcing hundreds of people to flee the area. Many of those displaced by the violence moved to makeshift shelters in the Mai Mahiu trading centre, Longonot, Suswa and Naivasha town. Others went to stay with their relatives in safer areas of the district, sources said. "We have confirmed 14 dead, but the situation is now back to normal," a police source told IRIN. "Police patrols have been increased," he added. According to the police, the Narok-Mai Mahiu road was reopened to normal traffic on Monday. Motorists were avoiding the road after gangs armed with machetes, spears, or bows and arrows attacked passengers of public transport vehicles. A resident of the area, Kimei Kirwa, told IRIN that the conflict was caused by disputes over water and pasture. Maasai pastoralists were moving from the southern rangelands, including Kajiado district, where pastures have dwindled as a result of inadequate rain, to less arid areas. "The dry spell is forcing the Maasai to move their cattle from Kajiado and Narok towards Nakuru, Mai Mahiu and Nyahururu and that is causing tension between communities," Kirwa said. "People are fleeing as we speak." Last week, the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS Net) expressed concern over continued poor rainfall in Kajiado district, saying the district had received less than 20 percent of normal rainfall for the entire 2004/05 short rains season. "Water shortages have increased and livestock are trekking extended distances to find water," FEWS Net reported in its latest update on Kenya released on 18 January.