SUMMARY

The relationship between Borana and Turkana, two pastoralist groups residing mainly in northern Kenya, has included competition over scarce grazing lands and cattle raiding. At times, this has resulted in violent clashes between the groups. With the increased availability of modern weapons, such cattle raids became more violent and deadly; clashes have also at times resulted in retaliatory patterns and counter-raids to retrieve stolen livestock. The government has also been criticized for failing to establish sufficient security in remote areas, hence enabling raids and clashes to continue unpunished.

The non-state conflict between Borana and Turkana is first included in UCDP data in 2011. In October and December that year, repeated clashes between the two groups had resulted in over 25 battle-related deaths.