Cattle rustlers kill at least 11 people during ambush in Kenya

At least 11 people have been killed by cattle rustlers during an ambush in northern Kenya, police said.

Eight officers, two civilians and a local chief are said to be among the victims of the violence in Turkana County on Saturday.

Members of the National Police Service were pursuing bandits who had earlier raided a village and stolen livestock.

Clashes over livestock and water are common in the area, which is also facing a worsening climate.

The area has been one of the hardest hit in one of the harshest droughts East Africa has seen in four decades.

A fourth season of failed rains has resulted in large numbers of livestock dying and crops failing to grow.

People are desperate for food and water, and the UN’s World Food Programme said up to 20 million people in East Africa are at risk of severe hunger.

Kenya’s police called the attack a “criminal and cowardly ambush” on “innocent members of the public and police”.

Additional officers have been dispatched to the village in Turkana East to bolster security and continue the pursuit of those responsible, who they said are members of the Pokot ethnic group.

It follows an incident last month in which at least seven people were burnt to death in the same county during a raid by suspected Pokot militiamen.

Jeremiah Lomorukai, the Governor of Turkana, said locals are “tired of mourning deaths of their family members”.