Associated Press
LELAI, Kenya — Kenyan troops battled rustlers from the Potok tribe Saturday, two days after they raided another tribe, killing 18 people and stealing more than 9,000 of their livestock, a district official said.
More than 1,500 Pokot men used assault rifles Thursday to attack Lelai, about 400 miles northwest of Nairobi, and steal cattle and goats from a Turkana tribe, witnesses said. Women and four children between 2 and 6 years old were among the dead.
Kenya soldiers and police pursued the rustlers and started fighting them Friday, with the battle continuing into Saturday, District Commissioner David Oyoo said.
Army helicopters directed ground forces Saturday to the Pokot raiders, who were fleeing to their home area near Nakoret, about 150 miles northwest of Lelai.
Security forces killed eight Pokot men Friday and recovered 4,000 goats, Oyoo said. The raiders still had 5,000 cattle as they fled the security forces.
Pokot and Turkana tribesman have staged rustling raids on each other for centuries, but the availability of modern weapons has made the raids more deadly in recent years. Security forces have little authority over the nomadic tribes in semiarid northwestern Kenya.
Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
