Bandits shoot dead four people in Isiolo conflict

By ALI ABDI

Isiolo County

Four more people have been killed and five injured in Isiolo conflict.

Two Somalis and a Borana herdsman were gunned down by assailants at Shambani area on the outskirts of Isiolo town on Saturday.

And a taxi driver who was headed towards the scene of the attack was also shot dead. Three other herdsmen were injured during the incident.

The taxi driver was identified by relatives as Ahmed Osman Nurow.

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The other three deceased were identified as Golicha Jarso, Yussuf Abdinur and Ahmed Hussein Ismail. They were all buried on the same day at the local Muslim cemetery after 1pm prayers.

Isiolo OCPD Danied Kamanza said he was aware of the killings but his officers did not recover the bodies.

On Friday and Saturday, residents of Ngaremara blocked the Isiolo-Moyale highway and stoned motorists. A bus heading to Isiolo from Moyale was damaged and a woman injured during the incident.

Torched houses

A truck driver was also shot and seriously injured at Ngaremara. The truck was headed to Isiolo from Wamba in Samburu East.

Home guards in the area engaged in a heavy gun battle with the bandits before they recovered hundreds of stolen camels. The bandits torched houses and set ablaze farms on the banks of Isiolo River before escaping.

Following the violence, hundreds of families have fled their homes at LMD, Kilimani, Shambani, Odha, Maisha Bora, Checheles and Kambi Garba.

Somali clan elders drawn from the Ajuran, Garre, Degodia, Murulle and Isack/Harti led by Mr Osman Yussuf accused Turkana leaders of allegedly using bandits to attack herdsmen in a bid to evict them from the area, ahead of the next General Election.

Yussuf, who is also a livestock trader, claimed that security personnel did not intervene to stop the attacks.

In a past interview, Turkana leaders had alleged the Somali herders had migrated from North Eastern Province to evict their people.

A politician from Turkana has since been charged in court with inciting his community with intention of driving away the Somali herders. Two Somali chiefs were also charged with inciting their community to stage revenge attacks.

The proposed Isiolo resort city that is to be located at Kipsing Gap, near the Saturday battle scene, is seen as another major cause of the conflict.

Saturday’s killings bring to ten the number of people that have died in the last 10 days.

In the last two weeks, 15 people were killed in Isiolo and Tigania East in related violence.