At least six people are feared dead and scores of others injured in fresh fighting between Samburu herdsmen and residents of Il Ngwesi in Laikipia County.
It is believed that the dead are Samburu herders who forced their way into Il Ngwesi Conservancy with hundreds of animals.
Among the injured are two security guards working at the prestigious Il Ngwesi Lodge, situated along the Laikipia-Isiolo border.
Although Laikipia County Commissioner Wilson Wanyanga said only two people were injured, Mukogodo East Ward Administrator David Tumpes said residents counted six bodies of suspected raiders in the bushes.
He said the herders were ordered to leave the conservancy but they instead started shooting at the conservancy's security officers, prompting the latter to fight back.
"They injured two workers but the information I have just received is that six raiders are dead. The bodies are still in the bushes and the fighting is still going on," said Mr Tumpes.
The battleground hosts the world renowned Il Ngwesi Lodge, which has in the past hosted famous people among them England's Prince William, also known as the Duke of Cambridge.
Early this year, hundreds of Samburu herders invaded the conservancy with their cattle, forcing the lodge to cancel bookings estimated at millions of shillings.
armed herders
The Government later ordered their eviction after the local community claimed the herders were armed with sophisticated weapons.
Yesterday evening, Mr Wanyanga said reports indicated that only two people were injured in the clashes. The administrator said the herders are believed to be fleeing from Ngare Mara in the neighbouring Isiolo County, where at least eight people were killed in clashes between Samburu and Turkana herders late last week.
At least three people were also killed and several others injured on Saturday morning in inter-community clashes at Lowangila in Isiolo County.
County Commissioner Wanyama Musiambo, who visited the scene and confirmed the incident, said 40 cows were also killed when suspected bandits shot them in the fighting.
The county commissioner said security officers were pursuing the attackers who fled towards the Isiolo Buffalo Springs Park.
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