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13 dead in attack on Kenyan village
2008-03-03
Dozens of people with assault rifles and machetes stormed a village in western Kenya early Monday, killing at least 13 people, including six children, police said. Some were burned alive in their homes. National Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said the attack in Embakasi village was over land, not the country's disputed Dec. 27 presidential election, which unleashed weeks of nationwide bloodshed. Rabson Mbuya, whose said his wife, three children and housekeeper were killed, said he was patrolling the area as part of his job in the police reserve when the attackers came. "I saw them knock the door of my house several times, but when there was no response," a wailing Mbuya said. "One spilled petrol on the roof before torching it. I heard my wife and children scream but there was no way I could go near and rescue them." Mbuya said he also saw a 3-year-old boy hacked to death as he ran from his parents' house. A pregnant woman due to give birth next month was burned alive in her home, police said. The village is in a region 300 miles northwest of Nairobi that sees frequent, bloody clashes over land. Bernard Muli, a police chief in the area, blamed the Sabaot Land Defense Force, a militia group fighting for the redistribution of land in western Kenya.
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