KENYA: REFUGEES KILL EACH OTHER IN KAKUMA CAMP

Turkana, KENYA

Five people were killed in Kakuma refugee camp in northwestern Kenya on Tuesday after a clash between refugees from Sudan and South Sudan, community leaders said Wednesday.

Kakuma refugee camp

The Nuba community council member, Bibo Andrew John, told our reporter that this morning that the deadly fighting began when young boys from the Nuer and the Nuba communities fought after a football match on Tuesday.

"Five people including a woman were killed from the Nuba at Kakuma 3 and five others sustained injuries during the fighting. Death toll is expected to rise," Bibo said.

He further said clashes resumed between the two ethnic groups, the Nuer and the Nuba, at the refugee camp this morning. "The situation is tense now because fighting has resumed. Pangas, spears and stones are being used in the fighting," he explained.

Stephen Nyang Malaual, the former chairperson of the Nuer community at the refugee camp, confirmed that fighting erupted between the two communities.

Nyang said clashes erupted on Tuesday when teenagers from the two groups, the Nuba and the Nuer, fought after a football match.

He revealed that at least 9 people were injured from their side. Nyang said that community leaders and police authorities are trying to control the security situation.

The former community leader disclosed that several people had been arrested by the police.

Established in 1991 under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Kakuma refugee camp, which is located at Kenya’s border with South Sudan, is home to approximately 165,000 refugees and asylum seekers of over 18 different nationalities. - Africa