Kenya grenade attack kills up to 16 in displaced persons camp

A grenade attack killed up to 16 people at a camp for displaced persons in northern Kenya near the borders of Somalia and Ethiopia.

Sunday's attack occurred in the village of Joroqo in Kenya's Madera region, where bomb blasts and shootings have marked months of violence between the feuding Garre and Degodia clans.

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It also took place as regional leaders met in Nairobi in an attempt to reconcile the warring communities.

In an interview with The Associated Press, a local police officer blamed the violence on politics, saying one clan feels it was left out of elective posts after Kenya's March election.

The Kenya Red Cross said on its Twitter feed that 16 people had been killed in Sunday's grenade attack and 22 were injured, with seven of the victims in critical condition.

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The attackers had fled toward Ethiopia and were being pursued by police.

Villagers, meanwhile, began fleeing their homes after the attack, aid workers said.

"More than 20 people have lost their lives, hundreds are fleeing their homes. The police and the military are just watching, they are doing nothing," resident Ibrahim Issack told Reuters.