The police are now in control of the Nairobi slum
At least 20 people have been killed in a slum in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in overnight riots.
Members of a banned religious sect went on the rampage after three of their members were killed, according to reports by the French AFP news agency.
The violence is believed to have an ethnic dimension. The Mungiki sect is predominantly Kikuyu and they are fighting a largely ethnic Luo vigilante group.
The BBC's Alice Muthengi in Nairobi says that the police are now in control and the streets of the Kariobangi slum are deserted.
Traditions
Police have confirmed 20 deaths but local residents say that many more people may have been killed. Members of the sect attacked bars belonging to ethnic Luos with machetes, clubs and hoes, AFP reported.
The Mungiki sect urges people to return to traditional life-styles. The sect was banned because it advocates the practice of female circumcision, or female genital mutilation.
However, correspondents say that the sect still operates widely, despite the ban. Vigilante groups have been set up in Kariobangi to deal with the high level of crime there.