August 12 2006
By Noor Ali
Isiolo, Kenya - Suspected Ethiopian rebels arrested in joint operations in northern Kenya will be deported to Ethiopia after serving jail terms, a local official said on Saturday.Vincent Okioma, district commissioner for northern Kenya's Moyale region, said more than 50 members or sympathisers of Ethiopia's Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) had been rounded up in a security sweep that began a week ago in the violent border area."All the Ethiopians arrested in the crackdown will first serve custodial sentences for being in Kenya illegally," Okioma told Reuters in a telephone interview. "They will be handed over to their government on completion of their sentences."
Civil society groups have said innocent people were targeted by police and soldiers in the operations, which are scheduled to last for the next two months. Okioma dismissed this."We have strong evidence that links those in custody to the rebel group and banditry," he said. "Anyone with any complaints should bring them to us," he added.Late on Friday, two local human rights groups in the area issued a statement condemning the operation."The government should pursue an effective and lawful way of tackling insecurity in this region," the groups said. "Security personnel should not punish an entire community," they added.
Long neglected by the central government, Kenya's remote north is notorious for banditry and fighting between pastoralists over scarce resources. Police and army numbers are hopelessly inadequate to patrol the vast and lawless area.
Independent Online
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