Fighting broke out yesterday between rival ethnic Somali clans in the Tarbaj district of Wajir, along the border with war-torn Somalia.
Tarbaj deputy county commissioner David Rotich said 20 of the gunmen from both the Degodia and Garre clans died in the clashes.
The rural and remote region, one of Kenya's most volatile areas, is awash with guns and armed bandits.
Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab have also launched attacks in the area, although the clashes yesterday were reported to be over land and grazing for livestock belonging to the pastoralist peoples there.