In Kenya, Reports of Police Abuse in Mostly Ethnic-Somali Town
Mohammed Yusuf
November 22, 2012
NAIROBI-Kenyan army and security forces clashed with locals in the
predominantly ethnic-Somali town of Garissa on Tuesday, leaving scores
wounded and many residents fuming with accusations of arson and physical
abuse.
At least seven people are nursing bullet wounds from violence that broke out
a day after unknown gunmen killed three soldiers who had stopped to change a
tire on their truck in the northeastern region that borders war-torn
southern Somalia.
Residents say security officers burned down some businesses in the course of
searching for the attackers on Monday, prompting some locals to riot in
protest.
According to a report by Agence France-Presse, Red Cross officials in Kenya
have said that one person had died and 48 others were being treated at
Garissa hospital in the wake of Tuesday morning's violence. Although no one
has claimed responsibility for the shooting of Kenyan troops, the French
news outlet also says Somali-based al-Shebab militants have vowed revenge
for Kenya's military involvement in southern Somalia.
According to Billow Kerrow, a former member of parliament from Kenya's
primarily Muslim northeastern region, both government officials and
civilians habitually target his community in the aftermath of terror
attacks. Some Muslim leaders have also criticized the government for
carrying out collective punishment in Garissa.
But Kenya military spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna said people are spreading
lies about the military's behavior in Garissa.
"The military were on the outside of the village stopping anybody from
fleeing out of the village, and the police carried out the search inside the
village," he said of the recent crackdown on riots. "Where the village was
and the fire [occurred] are on different areas, and therefore the
allegations that the military or the police burned [a business] - that is
unfounded and has got no basis whatsoever."
Kenyan security forces have been on edge after more than 40 police officers
were killed in an ambush by cattle rustlers in northwestern Kenya just over
a week ago.
Meanwhile, calm has returned to Nairobi's predominantly ethnic-Somali
neighborhood of Eastleigh, where paramilitary officers patrolled mostly
empty streets a day after clashes involving Kenyan and Somali youth broke
out in the wake of a bombing on Sunday. The explosion on a Nairobi bus
killed at least seven and injured 29.
Shortly after than explosion, Iman Burran, chairman of the Eastleighwood
youth forum, said he believes police are unfairly targeting the city's
ethnic-Somali population.
"We need to do further investigations instead of targeting one community,"
he said. "Me, I am Somali Kenyan, but still I am Somali, I look like a
Somali. I can be arrested because I am of Somali origin. We do know who is
creating these problems, these bombs. We don't know whether its al-Shabab or
other elements, unless we have independent investigations, we cannot
verify."
New York-based Human Rights Watch has expressed concern about tactics used
by Kenyan security officers, particularly in northeastern Kenya. The group
accuses security officers of subjecting locals to beatings, torture, and
other abuses.
Peter Cobus contributed to this report.
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Received on Thu Nov 22 2012 - 13:25:11 EST
