At least 46 people have been killed in fierce fighting between rival ethnic groups in the troubled northwestern part of Kenya.

Members of the Pokot ethnic group attacked a village of the Turkana group in the Turkana region on Monday. Turkana is located in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya.

Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Osman Warfa said the attackers fled the remote region after carrying out the massacre.

“The attack took place in a very remote zone which is inaccessible,” media outlets quoted Warfa as saying.

The regional official also added that the Kenyan military has sent troops to the area in order to hunt down the attackers and perpetrators.

Reports say an unknown number of animals were stolen during the assault.

According to reports, the latest attack could have been in retaliation for an earlier raid carried out by the Pokot tribesmen against another village in Baringo, northern Kenay.

The Turkana and Pokot tribes have endured a prolonged conflict over livestock pasture territories in the desolate region.

The Kenyan authorities have established inter-clan committees to help restore stability in the region. Kenya has witnessed many bloody tribal clashes over access to water and pasture with subsequent revenge attacks in different parts of the country.