[allAfrica.com] Outrage As Massacre Death Toll Hits 76 The East African Standard (Nairobi) NEWS July 14, 2005 Posted to the web July 13, 2005 By Standard Team Nairobi The death toll in the Marsabit bandit raid rose to 76 following a retaliatory attack and a crackdown on the intruders. Ten of those killed were flushed out of their vehicle and hacked to death by people accusing one community of Tuesday's massacre. And police said they had killed at least 10 of the raiders, who they said were members of a rebel movement from Ethiopia. The Government yesterday gave the official toll as 56. "This includes the 10 killed while riding in a priest's car. An additional 10 bandits have been killed," the Government Spokesman, Dr Alfred Mutua, said in a statement last night. A security operation is under way in the area to flush out the attackers. Two more Kenya Army choppers have been dispatched, together with five armoured vehicles and two truckloads of soldiers. Reports of the killings provoked outrage throughout the country, with President Kibaki assuring the affected residents that the Government would provide them with security. Speaking in Nakuru yesterday, the President condemned the attack, saying Kenyans who sought peace abhorred the act. "The Government has sent a security team to assess the situation on the ground and ensure that the injured receive medical attention," he said. He appealed for calm as the Government embarked on a security operation to track down the perpetrators of the attack. The President sent a message of condolence to the families of those killed and wished those injured speedy recovery. Politicians and religious leaders condemned the killings and asked the Government to protect the residents. Yesterday, details of the gruesome attack began to emerge as some villagers started burying their dead. Turbi residents said 22 of 56 killed on Tuesday were pupils at the local primary school. The bandits first attacked the school just as pupils prepared for morning classes. The children fled, seven of them - all in Standard Eight -hiding in a house next to the school. But the attackers pursued them, broke the door and shot each of the boys in the head. They moved to an adjacent house where Bhati Duba, an elderly woman, had hidden along with four pupils. They killed all four and seriously injured Duba, who is at Marsabit District Hospital. As the villagers started burying their loved ones, the corpses of the bandits lay scattered in the killing fields. Children skipped over one body that had been at the roadside for more than 30 hours. Another body dressed in a black jungle outfit was in the bush. The burials were simple: Several graves were dug, the bodies placed inside and sand put over them. But the bitterness lingered on: Some villagers dragged10 people from a Land Rover belonging to the Sololo Catholic Mission Hospital, asked them to identify themselves then hacked them to death. The incident occurred along the Isiolo- Moyale Highway at Bubisa. Those killed included four children under 10 years and four women, all from Sololo in Moyale District. The eleventh person, an Italian priest who was in charge of the vehicle, was spared but seriously injured after he was beaten up by the mob. The priest was airlifted to Nairobi yesterday from Marsabit District Hospital. The group was travelling to Marsabit from Sololo for a two-week crusade and seminar organised by the diocese of Marsabit. Tension is high in Marsabit and Moyale towns following the killings. Motorists have now abandoned the road in fear of attacks. North Horr MP Dr Bonaya Godana accused the Oromo Liberation Front of misleading residents into believing that they could carve off a section of Kenya into their own independent territory. He claimed the rebels had operated in the area for the last 15 years and was now receiving funding from some local leaders. Godana said he had drawn national Security Minister John Michuki's attention to the issue severally, but no tangible action had been taken. But a Kenyan police reservist guarding the village said he could identify some of the attackers, who were known home guards from the nearby locations. Police spokesman Jasper Ombati said 10 bandits had been killed so far. "Four of the bandits were killed during a shootout with home guards at the scene of attack on Tuesday and another six later," he said. By yesterday morning, no arrests had been made. Security personnel have recovered more than 4,000 goats, 10 camels, four donkeys and 60 cows stolen by the bandits during the Tuesday morning attack. The officers are drawn from the regular police, General Service Unit, Administration Police and the Kenya Army. And yesterday, two more police helicopters were sent to the area to enhance aerial surveillance. In a statement, Ombati said most of the attackers are believed to have crossed into Ethiopia. In Parliament, Michuki issued a ministerial statement, saying ethnic tensions had been brewing in the district over the last six months. He said irresponsible statements by leaders from the region had heightened tension. But this did not go down well with leaders from the district, with Saku MP Abdi Sasura (Kanu) challenging the minister to take to court any leader who had incited the public. Sasura said they were not above the law and if one of them has issued an inflammatory statement they should be arrested. Sasura accused the Government of failing to get enough intelligence from the ground even after being alerted. Laisamis MP Titus Ngoyoni (Kanu) said the Government had been taking things casually even after being told about tension in Marsabit.   =============================================================================  Copyright © 2005 The East African Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). =============================================================================