At least 18 people were killed in northern Kenya during cross-border cattle raids by about 300 armed bandits from Ethiopia, officials said on Monday.
Most of the dead were raiders who tried to steal thousands of animals from several villages close to the Ethiopian border, 650km from the capital, Nairobi, they added.
This latest deadly attack brings the number of dead from cattle rustling in this remote area to more than 200 in the past year alone, said Kenya Red Cross Secretary General Abbas Gullet.
”We are hoping that something will be done by the two governments to find a lasting solution to this problem because it is really taking a heavy toll on human lives,” Gullet said.
Running gun battles took place throughout Sunday as Kenyan police tried to capture the bandits and recover the stolen animals, said police spokesperson Gideon Kibunjah.
Police pursued the gunmen, who were armed with assault rifles, killing 17 of them during skirmishes and recovering most of the animals, he added. ”We believe the bandits are still in the area and our search for them will continue,” Kibunjah told the Associated Press.
One Kenyan herdsman was shot dead during the dawn raid. Four others suffered gunshot wounds, including an elderly woman, and were all airlifted to Nairobi for treatment.
Mutea Iringo, the Kenyan District Commissioner for the border region, said the highly porous 500km border made it almost impossible to stop rustling.
”What we need to do is bring the border communities together so that we can get a lasting peace,” he said by telephone from Marsabit, the district capital 400km north of Nairobi.
”That is the only way. No amount of security forces will be able to stop this.”
Cattle rustling is carried out by villagers from both sides of the border and has been going on for years, said Iringo, whose district covers 66 000 square kilometres.
In one of the worst incidents, in July 2005, at least 71 people were killed, including more than two dozen children, during an attack on the Kenyan village of Turbi.
The attackers lingered the entire day in the village, shooting and hacking at anyone on sight because security forces were slow to respond, according to relief agencies. — Sapa-AP