At least five civilians were murdered in Kenya's northern town of Mandera as the inter-communal fighting escalated on Saturday.

The divisional police commander, Christopher Rotich, confirmed the killing in separate incidents in two villages on Saturday morning.

In the first incident, three people were shot dead and another one was injured after suspected militiamen from a rival community descended on their village, 2 km from the border with Ethiopia, and indiscriminately opened fire on the sleeping villagers.

The attackers were believed to be Degodia militia men, who ambushed the Garreh villagers of the transit grazing settlement, as they were heading toward Elmole village, 25 km from Banisa.

"These were pastoralist families who were fleeing from the recurrent attacks in Banisa area and they were on a night stop- over in the area when they were attacked by the bandits believed to be numbering six," he said on Saturday.

Hostilities between the Garre and Degodia communities have been growing since the former lost their traditional Mandera central parliamentary seat to the latter in the last general election. Garre held the seat since independence.

The latest killing brings the total death toll to 25 in the tribal fighting in the region over the past five months following renewed bloody skirmishes pitting two Somali communities of Garreh and Degodia

Rotich said three camels and a donkey were also killed in the arbitrary shooting on the villagers by the assailants, adding that the bodies of the deceased were taken to Banisa for burial, while the injured was rushed to Mandera district hospital for treatment.

In the second incident, which occurred few hours later as a revenge, two men were killed and another one injured at Hullow village in Malka-Mari division. The area is predominately inhabited by the Degodia committee.

Speaking on phone from Malka-Mari village, local Imam Sheikh Abdi Abdullahi Mohamed said, "Heavily armed people raided our village and killed a man and a woman. They also killed five camels in the attack."

"As I am speaking to you now, villagers are fleeing from the attacked village for fear of more reprisal attacks," he said. Endi

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