Kenya - Over 32 Policemen Killed In Cattle Raid Ambush
Armed cattle raiders killed at least 32 Kenyan police officers in a military-style ambush, officials said on Monday, calling it the worst at...
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Armed cattle raiders killed at least 32 Kenyan police officers in a military-style ambush, officials said on Monday, calling it the worst attack on police in Kenya's history.
Officers hunting down the cattle thieves in a remote northern region on Saturday came under machinegun fire and rocket-propelled grenades in an ambush the police said was conducted with "military precision".
"We have recovered more bodies, we now have 32 in total. They were ambushed by attackers bearing sophisticated weapons, including machine guns," Osman Warfa, provincial commissioner of the vast Rift Valley province, told reporters.
The police were pursuing raiders from the ethnic Turkana community who had stolen cattle from the Samburu tribe, authorities said. The two groups frequently raid cattle from each other and fight over grazing land and watering points.
The violence has created security concerns ahead of a presidential election scheduled for March next year - the first since a disputed election in 2007 fuelled ethnic slaughter that killed more than 1,200 people and forced about 300,000 from their homes.
Warfa said some of the raiders were suspected of being former members of the security forces, now working as mercenaries. Authorities were searching for more bodies in the bushy escarpments where the raiders hide stolen cattle, he said.
Police trailed the bandits at night, hoping to lay siege to their village and recover the animals, but were instead outmanoeuvred and ambushed in a sprawling valley, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said.
"It is easily the worst single attack on police."
Cattle rustling and clashes over grazing and farming land are relatively common between communities in arid areas of east Africa and often escalate into revenge attacks. It was not clear how many had been killed in the initial raid by the Turkana.
As cattle die of starvation due to drought, night-time raids are mounted to replace lost stock from neighbouring areas.
"We have recovered more bodies, we now have 32 in total. They were ambushed by attackers bearing sophisticated weapons, including machine guns," Osman Warfa, provincial commissioner of the vast Rift Valley province, told reporters.
The police were pursuing raiders from the ethnic Turkana community who had stolen cattle from the Samburu tribe, authorities said. The two groups frequently raid cattle from each other and fight over grazing land and watering points.
The violence has created security concerns ahead of a presidential election scheduled for March next year - the first since a disputed election in 2007 fuelled ethnic slaughter that killed more than 1,200 people and forced about 300,000 from their homes.
Warfa said some of the raiders were suspected of being former members of the security forces, now working as mercenaries. Authorities were searching for more bodies in the bushy escarpments where the raiders hide stolen cattle, he said.
Police trailed the bandits at night, hoping to lay siege to their village and recover the animals, but were instead outmanoeuvred and ambushed in a sprawling valley, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said.
"It is easily the worst single attack on police."
Cattle rustling and clashes over grazing and farming land are relatively common between communities in arid areas of east Africa and often escalate into revenge attacks. It was not clear how many had been killed in the initial raid by the Turkana.
As cattle die of starvation due to drought, night-time raids are mounted to replace lost stock from neighbouring areas.
