By Yassin Juma
NAIROBI
At least four people have been killed in an attack blamed on bandits from a local ethnic group against a rival tribe in Kainuk town, northwestern Kenya, while more than 200 people from the latter have gone missing, a government official said on Saturday.
"Pokot bandits were behind the killing. They have killed four people and injured two," Aineah Apangule, Kainuk sub-county administrative chief, told The Anadolu Agency.
More than 4,500 sheep and goats were also stolen by the Pokot bandits, he added.
"We still cannot trace the whereabouts of at least 200 passengers who were travelling from Kitale to Lodwar. They were travelling in two buses. Most are ethnic Turkana," Apangule added, voicing fears that they might have been taken hostage by the bandits.
Shortly after the attack, residents of Kainuk took to the streets to protest the attack in Turkana county, blocking the road linking the East African country to neighboring South Sudan.
According to the Kenya Red Cross Society, more than 700 passengers were stranded near Kainuk after the road was blocked.
"These people need security to escort them out of Kainuk. They are also in need of food. We have sent a convoy carrying foodstuff to the stranded passengers," Kennedy Mulama, the Kenya Red Cross Turkana County Manager, told AA.
Turkana and Pokots, who both live in the arid northwestern part of Kenya, have for many years clashed over cattle rustling with bandits from each tribe attacking the rival community.
Last month, 21 Police officers were killed by Pokot bandits in Kapedo near the Baringo-Turkana county border.
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