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Kenya

Drought increasing conflict among pastoralist communities

NAIROBI [ACTED News] - At least six people have been killed in a fresh wave of fighting between two rival groups near the northern Kenya town of Moyale this year. Violence in pastoral areas in 2011 left more than 350 people dead — compared to 179 killed in 2010 — highlighting the impact of drought on resource-based conflict. This conflict in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands is typically exacerbated during drought, when cattle raids are used to restock animals in pastoralist communities, and is associated with competition over access to resources, historical inter-tribal tensions over land use, and proliferation of small arms.