NAIROBI (Halbeeg News) – Somali pastoralists have accused Kenyan military soldiers of committing crimes against humanity.
The Kenya Defence Forces have allegedly attacked eight Somali herders on Monday in Ijara town of Garissa County.
According to the Star, a newspaper based in Nairobi, the victims were admitted at Masalani Hospital.
The paper said the Some of them had been unconscious at the time of their admission at the hospital.
In an interview with The Star, the victims said Kenya Defence Forces officers ambushed them, ordered them to strip naked and lie face-down.
The officers were reportedly in military fatigues.
The herders said the soldiers landed on them with kicks and blows and struck them with clubs.
“We were about to take our cattle to a grazing area when several military planes landed. The officers came to us. They beat and we are lucky to be alive,” Abdi Mohamud said from his hospital bed.
He told the Star that they could not sit upright or sleep well because their bodies ache.
“The officers asked whether we had guns. We answered no. We’re poor herders who have never had any problem with the security forces. We’re shocked they had to beat us,” Mohamud said.
Garissa-based human rights activists have threatened to sue the soldiers for harming anyone they find in the forest.
“It’s barbaric for KDF to attack harmless herders looking after their livestock. This is a major blow to their fight against terror. How can you fight someone, yet you require his assistance against the enemy?” Northern Forum for Democracy coordinator Khalif Abdi asked.
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