Hundreds flee homes in fear of reprisals for police deaths
Tuesday 13 November 2012
Printable
EmailHundreds of Kenyans fled their homes today fearful of reprisal attacks from security services after the slaughter of police officers at the weekend.
At least 32 police officers were killed when they pursued a gang of cattle rustlers into a region known as "death valley" because it's easy to mount ambushes there.
Police commissioner Mathew Iteere said today that a serious operation had begun to pursue the killers.
The rustlers from the Turkana tribe were suspected to have stolen cattle from the Samburu tribe.
A local official said more than 1,500 Turkana villagers had fled the region as police numbers built up nearby.
Cattle rustling has become a serious problem in Kenya.
Scores of people are killed each year over livestock thefts and many complain the government has not done enough to tackle the crimes.
But rural community leaders often complain that retaliation for the death of security personnel is bloody and indiscriminate.
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