Land dispute death toll continues to rise

April 05 2007 at 01:44AM

By Osinde Obare

Kitale - More than 140 people have been killed in clashes sparked by a land dispute in western Kenya since December, Kenya's Red Cross said on Wednesday.

About 60 000 people have fled the violence, 15 schools have closed and 115 people have been wounded, said Abbas Gullet, the secretary general of the Kenyan Red Cross.

"More people are moving away from their homes due to increased clashes," he said in a statement released to news organisations. "The clashes have disrupted the normal activities and livelihoods of the affected communities."

The violence erupted after local militias began attacking landless families who were settled in the area by the government in the Mount Elgon area, 51km north-west of Nairobi.

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On Sunday, eight people, including a teacher and four pupils, were shot dead and four others were injured in the latest violence, local police said.

Land is a highly charged issue in Kenya. Most of Kenya's 34 million people are subsistence farmers and senior officials have been accused of taking the best land for themselves and their supporters.

Lawmakers from the area have complained that the government has not been doing enough to ensure security.

Kenya's Internal Security Minister John Michuki told parliament on Wednesday the government will be deploying additional security forces to crack down on criminals, but did not release numbers.

Government spokesperson Alfred Mutua said President Mwai Kibaki was concerned about the violence and that 290 people suspected of being linked to the violence had been arrested, 13 killed and 23 injured. - Sapa-AP