Scarce, Degraded Land is Spark for Africa Conflict

On a continent where a man’s worth is often measured by his cattle, rivalry for the beasts and the degraded land they graze on is sparking lethal conflicts across Africa.

Observers say the violence is rooted in increasingly parched soil which has been battered by overgrazing, erosion, population growth and global warming, exacerbating struggles among human communities with ancient and blood-stained histories.

Last week cattle rustlers in northern Kenya massacred dozens of villagers, sparking brutal reprisals in a lawless region near the Ethiopian border. The death toll from the mayhem was 80.

Those clashes were the most recent in a cycle of clan killings between herders in Kenya over land and scarce water in the arid north.
RedNova