Kenya: Conflict over resources in border areas

The recent killing of 70 people in northern Kenya's Marsabit district demonstrates a frequent pattern of conflict between communities living in arid areas over scarce resources and inter-communal animosity exacerbated by political rivalry, an analyst said. On 12 July, hundreds of armed raiders believed to have been members of the Borana ethnic group attacked villages inhabited by the Gabra community in the Turbi area of Marsabit, near the Kenya-Ethiopia border. Some 70 people were killed, including 22 children.