Hundreds flee Kenyan region
12/03/2008 10:04  - (SA)  

Want to know more? Answerit can help.

E Africa weathers Kenya crisis Kenya power-sharing debate due Kenyans flee 'aerial bombing' Kenyan army attacks militia 30 000 Kenyans flee their homes New Kenya unrest toll hits 14

Cheptais - Hundreds of Kenyans fled the remote Mount Elgon region on Tuesday and several people had been killed after army helicopters attacked a small rebel militia for the second day, said witnesses and a legislator.

A witness saw at least 300 people escaping the area, where helicopters had strafed the foothills and hundreds of heavily-armed soldiers had poured into the forest since Monday, to flush out the little-known Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF).

The Mount Elgon violence preceded a wave of ethnic killings around Kenya over President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election in December - but it shares some of the root causes like tribal tensions and resentment over land distribution.

"The helicopters were firing next to the village throughout the morning. It was unbearable," one farmer said as he fled out of the area beyond the army cordon into Cheptais town.

Govt's tactics 'heavy-handed'

Journalists and aid workers had been barred from the conflict area, which had fertile farmland, was famous for its elephant herds and lied near the border with Uganda.

A local legislator said several people had been killed, though the toll could be higher.

"I understand three or four people have been killed ... The area is inaccessible due to the terrain and these guys are dropping bombs so it is very difficult to know the number," Mount Elgon member of parliament (MP) Fred Kapondi said.

He criticised the government's tactics as heavy-handed.

"What the government is doing to people here is inhuman. They are pounding on traumatised children and mothers. The March planting has been disrupted so now there will be no food ... This operation must be stopped," Kapondi said.

More than 500 people had been killed and 60 000 had fled clashes in the area over the last 18 months. Allocation of government land in mid-2006 unleashed fighting between the Ndorobo and Soy clans of the Sabaot ethnic group.

Opponents said the land was divided corruptly and favoured the Ndorobos and government supporters, at the expense of the more numerous Soy, some of whom were evicted from areas they had farmed for 30 years. The SLDF group was mainly Soy.

What is this? Yahoo Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Brought to you by OUTsurance Car Insurance
	News24 Headlines on your Facebook profile		News24 on mobile