Stone-throwing groups of young men armed with machetes and clubs stormed through the streets, the BBC reported.

The government placed a curfew on the town and deployed soldiers from a nearby base to quell the fighting, the Financial Times said.

Residents of Nakuru, mostly members of the Kikuyu tribe, blamed the violence on Kalenjins. Nakuru has become a refuge for Kikuyus driven out of the countryside.

Ezekiel, a security guard at a gas station, told the BBC he was worried about his wife and child.

"They are crouching there in the room all alone. I told them not to move and it is now too dangerous for me to get near them," he said.

Kenya has been rocked by violence since President Mwai Kibaki's disputed victory over Opposition Leader Raila Odinga in the presidential election. Kibaki is a member of the Kikuyu tribe, which has dominated Kenyan politics since independence.

Human Rights Watch issued a report Thursday suggesting the wave of ethnic violence following the contentious Dec. 27 elections was organized by Odinga's party, the Orange Democratic Movement.