Nairobi - Aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) on Tuesday called for an increase in aid for civilians caught up in a long-running battle between local militias and government forces in the Mount Elgon region of Kenya.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced over the last two years as the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF) battled the army over land allocations.

Troops in May gunned down SLDF leader Wycliffe Komon Matakwei and other members of his militia.

MSF, which is also known as Doctors Without Borders, said that civilians who lived through "atrocities, mutilation and loss" were still struggling to cope.

"Medical aid alone can not answer the numerous needs of the people in Mount Elgon," MSF Head of Mission, Remi Carrier, said. "They require protection from violence, increased assistance, and for more attention to be paid to their plight."

MSF said people lacked access to basic services, clothing, sufficient food, shelter and blankets.

Many dwell in poor shelters where they are exposed to the cold nights of the highlands, the body said.

The agency said that the government action to weed out the SLDF, that saw Matakwei killed, had brought more misery to the civilian population.

"Since the beginning of our activities, our medical teams in Mount Elgon have seen and treated victims of violent trauma, especially from last summer onwards.

"But it really peaked after the launch of the operation, with more than 250 injured people treated in the month that followed," Carrier said.

With many of the displaced now returning home, MSF called for an immediate increase in assistance to "allow them to restart their lives." (dpa)