Six killed by militia in western Kenya
NAIROBI (AFP) — Guerrillas targeted by a military crackdown in western Kenya have killed six people and dumped their bodies in a pit, officials said Tuesday.
The bodies were recovered from a latrine pit in the Mount Elgon region, where the military has been cracking down on Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF) militia since March, said local official Gideon Obwongi.
A police official said the six were killed by the SLDF militia, whose campaign has killed hundreds of villagers and displaced hundreds of thousands since the group took up arms in 2005.
The SLDF is demanding the end of a government settlement scheme which it deems unfair because it displaced the small Sabaot tribes from their ancestral land.
Human rights groups have accused the army and the militia of carrying out rights violations in the region.
Amnesty International is, meanwhile, pressing Kenya's new coalition government to prosecute the perpetrators of post-election violence that claimed at least 1,500 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
