Police reservist injured as Kenyan security officers clash with Ethiopian militia

Tension is high along the Kenya–Ethiopia border after fierce clashes between Kenyan security personnel and suspected Ethiopian Nyangatom militia.

The incident left a Kenya Police Reservist seriously injured at Nangusilngatuny watering point in Kibish, Turkana North.

The confrontation reportedly erupted after more than 300 heavily armed militia suspected to be Nyangatom warriors on Tuesday afternoon crossed into Kenyan territory.

They blocked Turkana herders from accessing the strategic watering point, triggering an intense exchange of gunfire that lasted several hours.

Turkana County Police Commander John Tarus confirmed the incident, saying the injured reservist was in stable condition at Kibish Health Centre.

According to security sources, the armed group had seized control of a key access road and allegedly ambushed vehicles and security officers, prompting a multi-agency security team to launch an operation to repel the incursion.

The security team reportedly deployed heavy firepower to disperse the attackers, forcing them to retreat towards the Ethiopian border.

"It seems they intended to cause mass destruction because they were heavily armed. A multi-agency team responded with heavy fire to forestall further incursions, forcing them to retreat," Tarus said.

The police boss assured that security had been heightened along the volatile border following intelligence reports of possible attacks.

"We are on high alert. We have contacted the Nyangatom administration and urged them to prevail upon their community to de-escalate the tension. These communities have lived peacefully for more than six years. We do not understand why they are fighting despite sharing the same dialect and cultural ties," he said.

The latest confrontation comes amid growing concerns over alleged threats by armed members of the Nyangatom community to take control of Kibish border town and neighbouring grazing areas.

They invaded the Ekitela area, where they are reportedly occupying territory inside Kenya.

Special Envoy for Peace in the Ateker Region, John Munyes, has raised alarm over the deteriorating security situation in Kibish and Todonyang.

He warned that repeated armed confrontations since last week could trigger a wider cross-border conflict.

Munyes raised concern that the fighting was increasingly taking place inside Kenyan territory, with heavily armed Nyangatom warriors reportedly engaging local communities and security personnel in Kibish and Kokuro.

"The situation is extremely worrying. We are witnessing armed confrontations inside Kibish and Kokuro, and there is a real danger that the situation could escalate beyond control if urgent intervention is not undertaken," he warned.

He also questioned the level of security support deployed to the area, saying a handful of regular police officers under the Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) were facing hundreds of heavily armed warriors with inadequate operational backing.

"It is troubling that the few regular police officers on the ground are being left to confront hundreds of armed warriors with inadequate support. The security agencies must urgently reinforce the area before the situation gets out of hand," he said.

The Special Envoy further warned that the Ateker peace initiative was facing mounting challenges, including logistical and spillover conflicts from Moyale and longstanding disputes over territorial boundaries, grazing land, water and other natural resources.

He singled out disputes over access to water along River Nakuwa as an emerging threat to stability, cautioning that competition over shared resources could undermine years of peace-building efforts.

Munyes also expressed fears that continued incursions and competing territorial claims could eventually result in Kibish being overrun by armed groups seeking to raid livestock and establish settlements in areas they consider ancestral Nyangatom territory.

"I fear that Kibish could eventually be overrun if this situation is not addressed urgently. The continued incursions and competing territorial claims pose a grave threat to the lives, livelihoods and security of our people," he warned.

He called for urgent intervention while urging the governments of Kenya and Ethiopia to strengthen security deployments, engage local administrations, and pursue diplomatic dialogue to contain the violence.

The renewed clashes have heightened anxiety among residents and pastoralist communities whose livelihoods depend on shared grazing fields, watering points and cross-border trade.

There are growing concerns that failure to contain the hostilities could reverse more than six years of relative peace between the neighbouring communities and trigger a wider regional security crisis.

The unfolding situation has renewed calls for coordinated security operations and diplomatic engagement to protect civilians, secure the border and restore stability in Kibish before the violence escalates further.