By Cyrus Ombati

Five people were Monday shot dead and several animals stolen in a cattle rustling incident in Mandera County near the Kenya-Ethiopia border.

Four others were injured in the attack and were to be driven to the local district hospital, in Mandera which is about 200 kilometers away from Banisa, the site of the attack.

Among the deceased were a six year old child, three men and a woman who were shot when the gang of about 20 struck at 8am.

All the victims were Degodia and were reportedly attacked by militia locals said to have come from Gare community, which apparently spreads to Ethiopia.

A second attempt to attack Malkameri village was thwarted by a group of Administration Police officers who were at the local provincial administration offices, police said.

The earlier attack targeted Julkho village of Banisa district and was launched as the villagers were waking up for the day’s business after Sunday’s Eid celebrations.

Tension remained high in the area even as the local provincial administration blamed feuding clans over control of resources for the attack.

Personnel deployed

North Eastern PC Ernest Mwinyi said a team of police had been sent to the area headed by the Banisa District Commissioner to pursue the incident.

“It is unfortunate there are casualties but officers are headed there to pursue the matter,” said Mwinyi on the phone.

He said they have deployed enough personnel to address any threat of more attacks.

Other reports said houses were burnt in the attack that locals claimed saw over 300 goats driven away.

The attack brought to more than 10, the number of people who have died in the same area in a month in the continuing feuds between the communities living there.

Acting internal security minister Yusuf Haji had last month held a meeting in Garissa town to solve the issue. He condemned the attacks and urged local leaders to solve their differences without letting them turn violent.

Locals who called The Standard said the problem of insecurity has been ongoing in the past weeks and that several had been displaced.