Kenya's Tana River Violence Kills 100

By Mina Fabulous    

More than 100 people have been killed in the clashes in the eastern Tana River district since it erupted last month.

Rival ethnic groups have been involved in violence fueled by water and cattle-grazing rights in the region.

Reports say Kilelengwani village was attacked earlier this week by more than 300 people. The mob reportedly set fire 167 houses.

Today at Washington DC, Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland
says the United States condemns the deadly cycle of recent attacks and reprisals in Kenya's Tana River Delta.

Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga speaks with the Kenyan media. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

"Our sympathy goes out to the families who have lost loved ones in the violence." -Ms. Nuland

The United States urge Kenyan community leaders and the Kenyan Government to intensify efforts to bring opposing factions together to end the violence and establish peaceful mechanisms to address disputes in the future.

She stresses that it is also important that those who have committed crimes are held accountable through transparent, fair, and thorough investigations and trials.

Attacks such as those in Tana River threaten to destabilize the surrounding region and rob Kenyan citizens of opportunity, she noted.

"The United States calls on all parties throughout Kenya to address grievances and assert their rights through peaceful means, as provided for in the new constitution, so that all Kenyans may participate in fair and credible elections in March 2013." -Ms. Nuland

More than 1,000 Kenyans have lost their lives and over 300,000 have been displaced since December 2007 elections in which President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner over opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Kenya, with its 34 million-strong population, was considered the most stable country in the region. For foreigners, it is mostly known from Karen Blixen's book "Out of Africa," later turned into an unforgettable blockbuster with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. As the death toll rises, Kenya may soon be portrayed as its infamous neighbors: Uganda, Sudan, and Somalia.

Mina Fabulous follows the news, especially what is going on in the US State Department. Mina turns State Department waffle into plain english. Read more stories by Mina Fabulous. Contact Mina through NewsBlaze.

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