A UN official has been killed in nothern Kenya. This is the first killing of a UN official in that area.

Silence Shirara, a Zimbabwe national, was the head of the WFP office in Lokichoggio town, about 650km north of the capital Nairobi and near the border with South Sudan.

"Gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles shot him about 100 metres from the UN compound at about 7.00pm (local time) Wednesday. He later died of his injuries," the UN official said.

Turkana district police commander Mark Wanjala confirmed the killing of Shirara, who was also a coordinator for logistical operations between Kenya and South Sudan. He said it was the first-ever slaying of a UN official in the area.

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"It was not clear whether the deceased succumbed to bullet injuries or as a result of his car ramming the rock," said Wanjala.

The United Nations set up a base in Lokichoggio in the 1990s to coordinate humanitarian operations for South Sudan during a two-decade war that ended in 2005.

Source: iol.co.za