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KENYA: Thousands flee clashes in Nairobi slum

09 Nov 2006 14:08:22 GMT
Source: IRIN

NAIROBI, 9 November (IRIN) - At least 9,000 people have been displaced by three days of clashes between gangs in a large slum in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, an official of the Kenya Red Cross (KRC) said on Thursday.

"A lot more people are still fleeing their homes because of fear of more attacks," Anthony Mwangi, the KRC's public relations manager, said. "We are distributing food to thousands who have camped at [Kenya Air Force] Eastleigh airbase."

By Thursday, eight people were reported to have died in the clashes, which started on Tuesday between two gangs following a row over control of a lucrative illicit brew market in the sprawling Mathare slum, local residents said. Government security forces tried but failed to restore calm between the 'Mungiki' and 'Taliban' gangs, they added.

Nairobi's provincial commissioner, James Waweru, told reporters the government was trying to remove the gangs from the slums.

The Red Cross, Mwangi added, had distributed food and non-food items to those displaced. "We are asking for donation of hot meals from hotels in Nairobi," he added. "We cannot give them uncooked foodstuffs because they cannot cook. Several hotels are offering hot meals."

Hundreds of makeshift homes were destroyed by fires lit by the fighting gangs. "At least 1,500 families are directly affected," Mwangi added. "A dusk to dawn curfew is in place, but the situation is still very tense."

The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Anna Tibaijuka, expressed deep concern over the violence and called for calm. She urged Kenya's authorities to solve underlying causes of the violence, saying it was affecting thousands of Nairobi's most vulnerable and underprivileged citizens.

On Wednesday, hundreds of youths demonstrated in Nairobi city streets demanding the release of Mungiki gang leaders held in jail on previous charges of illegal possession of weapons. Police fired shots in the air to disperse the protesters.

According to the United Nations Centre for Human Settlement (Habitat), Mathare is one of Africa's largest, most overcrowded slums, with more than half a million people living there. Most of Mathare's residents live in one room dwellings, accommodating four to six people. The dwellings are very close to each other. Urban services are basic, while morbidity and mortality rates are high.

Separately, police said calm had returned to a rural area some 180 km northwest of Nairobi in Kenya's Rift Valley, where four people died in clashes that started over the weekend. At least 1,600 displaced people remain camped in various trading centres, schools and churches, out of fear of a possible escalation of the clashes, the Red Cross said.

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Last updated:Thu Nov 9 14:09:08 2006