More than 500 fishermen have fled from Lake Turkana following the killing of three of their colleagues by militiamen from the Merille tribe in Ethiopia. Fishing activities on the lake have been paralysed following a spate of attacks in areas on the Kenya-Ethiopia border.
Both Kenya and Ethiopia have deployed security teams to patrol the lake. Clashes between fishermen from the two countries have, in the last one week, led to the killing of six people including three Ethiopians. “The situation is under control as at now but there is still tension on the lake where fishing activities have been extensively affected,” Turkana North DC Albert Mwilitsa said.
Three Kenyan fishermen were attacked and shot dead on the shores of the lake. Mwilitsa said although tension is high in the area, security teams deployed on the lake by both countries are working to restore calm. “Fishing activities cannot flourish with insecurity all over. We have agreed that we need to jointly restore the security situation so that our people can engage in commercial fishing activities,” Mwilitsa said.
Last week a motor boat belonging to the militiamen was sunk by the Kenyan fishermen during fighting between fishermen and the militiamen. Mwilitsa could not confirm reports that the three people killed are security personnel from Ethiopia. However, he confirmed that a boat was sunk during the fight. The Lake, which is located on the border between the two countries, has more than 1,000 fishermen from both countries.
Meanwhile the Immigration ministry has set up two new offices on the border between Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The new offices are located at Kibosh and Todonyang and are aimed at helping facilitate smooth and legal movement of people and goods across the borders. Mwilitsa said there has been increased trade activities especially on the border between Kenya and South Sudan which necessitated the establishment of the Immigration offices.
“Once we have full security on the border there are indications that there will be a lot of trade between the three countries,” Mwlitsa said. A survey to establish the location of the border between Kenya and Ethiopia is going on and the government said it will help restore peace among communities living on the border.
2012 AllAfrica