Cattle rustlers ambushed in Kenya

People in the area have a history of inter-tribal clashes

More than 30 Kenyan herdsmen have been killed in clashes with cattle rustlers near the border with Sudan, police in Kenya are reporting.

A police spokesman in Nairobi, Peter Kimanthi, told the BBC that Turkana herdsmen had come under attack from Toposa raiders from Sudan, and that 33 Turkanas were killed.

He did not rule out a heavier toll and did not know whether there were Toposa casualties.

He said the clash took place last week, but had only now come to light because it took place in a remote region - the Turkanas had taken three days to reach the nearest police post to report the incident.

Police have been sent to the area to investigate - there have been no arrests so far.

Historical clashes

Mr Kimanthi said the Turkana fought off the raiders and recovered their stolen cattle, although they had lost six donkeys.

He said there have been several clashes between the two groups over the years - in September, about 18 people were killed in week-long rustling battles between the two groups.

But the police chief said that both tribes at a recent meeting had promised to work towards peace.

Many pastoralist tribes living in northwest Kenya, northeast Uganda and southern Sudan have raided each other's territory for cattle for centuries.