World Bulletin/News Desk

At least nine people were killed since a drought has started hitting Kenya’s arid northern counties, while millions of people in these regions are faced with a calamity if swift action is not taken to avert the situation, Kenya's Red Cross Society said.

It added in a press conference on Saturday that the counties of Mandera; Turkana; Wajir; Baringo, and Marsabit were the most hit by the wave of dryness.

"Around 2.1 million people in total were affected by the drought in these counties," Secretary General of Kenya's Red Cross Society, Abbas Gullet, said.

"The food security situation has deteriorated since March 2014 in agro-pastoral regions” Gullet added in the conference.

The nine deaths reported from the drought are all from Baringo county. In the worst-hit counties, residents resorted to eating wild fruits to survive while those strong enough had moved to urban centers in search of food.

Kenya's Red Cross Society, meanwhile, blames the current food insecurity in the ethnic Somali counties of Mandera and Wajir on inter-clan clashes.

The authorities say at least 100 people were killed in these clashes so far.

"Conflicts have also led to the destruction or looting of properties and disruption of livelihoods due to the displacement of communities and the destruction of communal watering points," Gullet said.

"The current food insecurity and emerging drought conditions are expected to further aggravate the situation in these areas," he warned.

The Red Cross Society has initiated a fund-raising campaign to alleviate the looming drought in northern Kenya.

Kenya's Deputy President, William Ruto, paid a visit to Baringo county this week and pledged a government support to the tune of $17 million to each affected county.  

In January 2014, Nairobi declared an impending drought with an estimated 1.6 million Kenyans being highlighted as requiring emergency food assistance .