Wajir residents now live in fear of revenge attacks

Wajir County: In the outskirts of Wajir town, members of the Garre clan, who were attacked and displaced in Wakberi in a retaliatory attack are living in fear of further attacks.

Mr Ali Noor, a displaced resident told The Standard on Sunday that he fears for his life and that of his family given that they are the minority in Wajir.

“Every time we experience clashes, I get scared. We are vulnerable here,” said Noor. The father of seven says their houses had been razed down, however, they had not received any form of assistance.

“Returning home is not a problem. I am scared of what would happen to us should we experience another flare up. We are helpless and do not know how long we would stay here,” he said.

Hundreds of other families in Mandera and Wajir counties share similar predicament in a region that remains volatile after a spate of inter clan killings continue to escalate between the Garre and Degodia clans of Somali community.

FEVER AND DIARRHOEA

A recent attack where 20 people were killed has continued to heighten tension of a possible retaliatory attack. The perennial fightings, which dates back to 1960s according to Mandera County Commissioner Michael Tialal, has claimed close to 100 lives in the last one year.

The Criminal Investigation Department will next week record statements from local leaders over the inter-clan clashes after an order from the Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo.

The recent spate of killings began on May 13 when three Degodia men were killed in Burmayo while clearing the road in Burmayo – Fincharo on the border between the two counties when members from the Garre clan shot and killed them instantly.

When The Standard on Sunday visited the villages in Sarma and Tarbaj where Degodia clan members had sought refuge after the attacks in Burmayo and Gunana, the IDPs said they continue to live in fear of further attacks.

“I am here but my other family members are in Tarbaj. I am sure of their safety over there, but for us here, our security is not guaranteed. We are very vulnerable,” said Mr Aden Bushara, a resident of Gunana in an IDP camp in Sarman.

Addressing the media early in the week after the recent killings in Gunana, Kimaiyo said the Government would take action against the perpetrators.

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in its report early this week alleged that 60 people had been killed and 75,000 others displaced. Investigations reveal that Burmayo, Ogoralle, Dunto, Lehely, Mansa, Ber Janai Belowle Basanechaa Bojigaras and Gunana locations had been affected and schools and health centres within Tarbaj Constituency had been closed indefinitely.

Cases of malnourished children and hunger stricken victims were rampant, though Wajir County government and Red Cross had supplied water and food to some IDPs.

Apart from Tarbaj and Sarman, the entire Tarbaj Constituency's dispensaries and health centres in 15 locations have been closed down and children are suffering from fever and diarrhoea. Similar cases had also affected the Mandera North Constituency. Last week Wajir County Governor Abdullahi Mohamed flagged out over 150,000 tonnes of maize flour, rice, beans and cooking fat to the IDPS and those affected by drought while KRC has deployed medical teams to avert outbreak of diseases.

“This food will help the IDPs alongside the hunger-stricken victims,” said Abdullahi.