Massive military operation underway in Mt Elgon area
March 10, 2008
Written by kenyanobserver, in NEWS HEADLINES
The Kenyan military has initiated a massive military operation in the Mt Elgon area following skirmishes last week which left 13 people dead and were attributed to a group known as the Sabaot Land Defense Force which is fighting what it alleges is unfair distribution of land in the area. Reports reaching major news agencies indicate that approximately 30,000 people have either fled their homes or have been displaced.A little background from WikipediaIn the 1970’s, some 600 Mosop families who lived in the forests around Mount Elgon were resettled in Chebyuk to make way for a game reserve. They were soon joined by the Soy people; in the land allocations which followed the resettlement, the Mosop were given some 65 percent of the land, while the Soy were given the remaining 35 percent. Over the decades, other ethnicities moved into the Chebyuk settlement, which complicated the land situation.A violent conflict began in December 2006 in the district between the Soy and Mosop subethnicities of the Sabaot ethnic group over allegations of unfair land allocation. A Sabaot Land Defense Force was formed, which led to a number of killings in the region. As of late 2007, some 150 people had died in the conflict, while over 45,000 people have been displaced from their homes in the Mount Elgon region to other towns such as Kitale, Chepkitale and Kimilili.See also – Military Base to be established in Mt Elgon area
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