Kenyan army burns Somali refugees to death

From Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu, Somalia):

Kenya: Army Burns to Death Six Somali Refugees At IFO Camp

12 January 2012

At least six Somali refugees at IFO camp in northeastern Kenya were reported to have been burned to death by Kenyan army, as attacks against police, military, and civilian targets in Kenya raise, witnesses said on Thursday.

Mohamud Hassan Mohamed, a resident at IFO confirmed to Shabelle Media by phone, that Kenyan army has deliberately burnt to death six Somali refugees, who were traveling by car between Hagarder and IFO camp in northeastern Kenya.

Some reports said, the army stopped a bus with many Somalia passengers from IFO camp to Hagarder in northeastern Kenya and asked their refugee IDs. The crackdown has largely targeted Somali refugees who have been victims for Kenyan army.

It is not clear the exact reason behind this tragic incident and Kenya has not yet made any comments about this.

Kenyan security forces are abusing civilians and Somali refugees in the north-eastern part of the country that borders Somalia.

Dadaab refugee complex is the world’s largest refugee camp which houses some 460 000 Somalis who have fled famine and war in their country over the past two decades.

Security, service delivery and economic activity in northeastern Kenya have deteriorated considerably since October 2011, when the country’s military forces deployed in neighbouring Somalia: here.

Kenya’s military spokesman, Major Emmanuel Chirchir, has taken responsibility for posting old photographs, which allegedly showed the stoning of a Kenyan by Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia on Tuesday: here.

Military intervention in Somalia, whether unilateral, multilateral or under the auspices of some supranational body, has never achieved its aims nor led to long term peace let alone political and social harmony: here.