Warangi

Police and officials rushed Saturday to quell a fresh outbreak of fighting between the Maasai and Warangi ethnic of groups in northern Tanzania.

At least 30 dwellings belonging to the Maasai were burnt and an undisclosed number of their cattle and goats went missing during a recent attack by the Warangi, officials said.

District Commissioner Moses Sanga of Kondoa, a predominantly Warangi area, has confirmed the incident. He said the Warangi burnt Maasai huts to avenge the beating of Warangi women by a group of young Maasai warriors on 4 November.

In retaliation, the Maasai re-grouped and attacked again last week. The Maasai in question live in Kiteto district of Arusha region, which which is next to Kondoa district.

The extend of casualties was not immediately known.

Alarmed that the situation might get nastier, the police and administration officials rushed to the scene over the weekend to sort out the problem.

The officials included the chief government administrator of Dodoma region, Isidori Shirima and his Arusha counterpart, Daniel Ole Njoolay.

The government was trying to bring together Warangi and Maasai elders to pacify their followers, Shirima said after a tour of the area Friday.

However, sources told PANA that the real cause of bad blood between the Maasai and their neighbours is a scramble for scare land and water resources.

While the Warangi are mainly subsistence farmers, the Maasai are nomad pastoralists who want their extended livestock to be given free access to grazing land and water resources.

Kondoa-Kiteto area lies on a dry belt with scarce arable land and water resources. The Warangi accuse the Maasai of encroaching their little farmland with impunity.

Several people have been seriously injured following clashes between Masai and Rangi tribes over land at Katikati Village, Kiteto District in Manyara region.

The Arusha Regional Police Commander, James Kombe, said yesterday that the incident occurred on Wednesday when a group of Rangi tribesmen from Isolwa Village in Kondoa district, Dodoma Region armed with clubs, machetes and other traditional weapons attacked four households of the Masai and burned their houses.

The affected Masai cried for help from their colleagues who gathered together within no time clashes ensued that left several people injured.

Police from Kiteto heard about the clashes and rushed to scene to bring the situation to normal.

Kombe said the Masai wanted to use the area for grazing their animals whereas the Rangi want it for crop cultivation, hence the fight.

He said the loss resulting from the burnt out households was estimated to be 4.9m/- and police are holding four persons in connection with the incident.

As a result of the incident, district commissioners of Kiteto and Kondoa would meet to discuss the situation with residents of the area in order to get a solution.

It is the second time that clashes have erupted between pastoralists and farmers in the area. Two years ago, two people were killed in similar clashes.