This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/6722113.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Deadly shoot-out with Kenyan sect | Deadly shoot-out with Kenyan sect |
(30 minutes later) | |
Police in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, have shot and killed 21 people in a gun battle with suspected members of the banned Mungiki sect. | Police in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, have shot and killed 21 people in a gun battle with suspected members of the banned Mungiki sect. |
Police say their officers engaged "a gang of thugs" resisting an operation to recover firearms stolen from three policemen who were killed on Monday. | Police say their officers engaged "a gang of thugs" resisting an operation to recover firearms stolen from three policemen who were killed on Monday. |
Several weapons are said to have been recovered and some policemen injured. | Several weapons are said to have been recovered and some policemen injured. |
Last week, the president warned Mungiki activities would no longer be tolerated and ordered a shoot-to-kill policy. | Last week, the president warned Mungiki activities would no longer be tolerated and ordered a shoot-to-kill policy. |
Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said the morning shoot-out took place in the Mathare district of Nairobi - a run-down industrial sector. | |
He said police have cordoned off a large area of the slum reputed to host criminal gangs in the city. | He said police have cordoned off a large area of the slum reputed to host criminal gangs in the city. |
"Security officers during the operation met with resistance from a crowd of armed people who fired at the officers leading to the shoot-out and most of them were killed," Mr Kiraithe told the BBC News website. | "Security officers during the operation met with resistance from a crowd of armed people who fired at the officers leading to the shoot-out and most of them were killed," Mr Kiraithe told the BBC News website. |
Three pistols, machetes and other crude weapons were recovered from the slain suspects and from several houses that were ransacked by the police's feared paramilitary wing, he said. | Three pistols, machetes and other crude weapons were recovered from the slain suspects and from several houses that were ransacked by the police's feared paramilitary wing, he said. |
On Monday night, three police officers were killed while on patrol on foot in the Mathare slums. They were robbed of their AK-47 rifles. | On Monday night, three police officers were killed while on patrol on foot in the Mathare slums. They were robbed of their AK-47 rifles. |
The security forces in Kenya have spent the past three months trying to crack down on criminal elements in the Mungiki - a sect which it is claimed runs an extensive extortion operation and is reported to have connections high up in Kenya politics. | The security forces in Kenya have spent the past three months trying to crack down on criminal elements in the Mungiki - a sect which it is claimed runs an extensive extortion operation and is reported to have connections high up in Kenya politics. |