Kenya charges 150 'militants'
2008-03-18 17:15
Eldoret - One hundred and fifty people were charged on suspicion of links with a Kenyan militia, which security forces had been battling in the country's northwest, said judicial sources on Tuesday.
The suspects, who were remanded in custody on Sunday, appeared before a judge in Sirisia court and accused of "promoting war-like activities", according to the charge sheet.
Most of the suspects were under 30 years of age and suspected of supporting the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF), a militia which had been fighting against the government in the northwestern Mount Elgon region over land claims.
Several hundred people had been killed and 66 000 displaced by bloody clashes in the area since December 2006.
Hundreds of government troops backed by helicopters had been sweeping the area in a bid to flush out the SLDF. At least eight people had been killed since the latest operation was launched on March 09.
The militia wanted the government to cancel a land redistribution programme it launched in 2006 and which would entail the displacement of thousands of local tribesmen.
Government forces were also tracking down two other militia groups: the Political Revenge Movement (PRM) and the Moorland Defence Force, a militia formed by the Ogiek tribe to counter the SLDF.
The Ogiek were a small tribe of hunter-gatherers counting only 15 000 families, 5 000 of whom lived in the Mount Elgon region.