At least 10 people were killed and several others wounded in Kenya's northern district of Turkana by suspected cattle rustlers from Toposa, southern Sudan on Saturday.
According to local administrators, the raiders armed with AK-47 rifles have struck Mogila area in Lokichogio division and stole 732 animals.
Turkana North District Commissioner Jack Obuo confirmed the deaths and said will ascertain the extent of the raids.
"I am on the ground with other security officers to ascertain what is going on but the minister will issue a statement about the recent raids," Obuo said on Sunday.
Tension is high in the area on Sunday as contingents of heavily armed police officers pursued the raiders. "It appeared they crossed over to Ethiopia but we are still pursuing them," a senior police officer said.
Eight of those killed were area residents who were shot by cattle rustlers at about midday on Saturday while the other two were raiders who were shot and seriously wounded during the confrontation.
Those wounded were admitted to the local hospital where two of them were treated and discharged.
"We have intensified security patrols in the region to avert more cattle raids, but we have not recovered the stolen animals," said a police officer involved in the operation.
Two weeks ago, 11 people were killed in a raid carried out in a manyatta in Nakalese village the same district. Eight of those killed were Toposa raiders from southern Sudan who were shot by police reservists while three of them were Turkana pastoralists.
The raiders drove away 4,500 heads of cattle during the dawn raid in Moite village, Laisamis district.
Cases of cattle raids to the North and North East of the Rift Valley have been rampant where pastoralists also fight over scarce national resources such as water and pasture.
Source:Xinhua
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