SCIENTISTS working on a primate research project near the Kenyan coast fled a protest by more than 300 naked women against plans to turn their land into a national park, newspapers reported on Wednesday. The dozen scientists carrying out a census of rare red colobus monkeys in the Mnazini area of Tana River district last weekend ran away from the irate women, abandoning their equipment. The nude protesters damaged some of the equipment. Public stripping by women is considered a curse in many Kenyan communities. Residents in the area are resisting plans to extend the Tana River Primate National Reserve because they do not want to be relocated. – AFP