3 asylum seekers killed as skirmishes hit refugee camp in Kenya


Nairobi, June 26 (IANS) Three asylum seekers were killed and dozens injured after chaos erupted at Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwestern Kenya’s Turkana county, local officials said on Wednesday.

Yusuf Salat, Deputy County Commissioner of the Turkana West, said that asylum seekers from South Sudan’s two rival clans — Nuer and Anyuak — had engaged in deadly fighting on Tuesday.

“Three people were killed and a number of others injured. We have deployed police to calm the situation,” Salat told Xinhua news agency.

Edwin Chabari, the Kakuma Refugee Camp manager, warned asylum seekers against lawlessness, adding that stern action will be taken against perpetrators of the latest flare-up.

Kakuma Refugee Camp is the country’s second-largest camp, hosting about 288,000 refugees from nine countries, including South Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

–IANS

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