23 October 2009
Nairobi — A new security camp at Nadapal in Turkana West District was attacked by heavily armed herdsmen from Sudan on Friday.
The camp hosts officers deployed to beef up security on the volatile Kenya-Sudan border.
Luckily, the officers had left the camp for the early morning patrol when the camp was sprayed with bullets, according to a security source who could not be named as they are not allowed to speak to the media.
"Their aim was to finish us all and take away all our guns. This is unbelievable as they were very confident and had heavy guns," said the officer.
A heavy exchange of gun- fire followed after the officers heard the shots and it lasted for five hours.
One Toposa herdsman is believed to have died of injuries. Many other herdsmen are said to have sustained injuries. A Kenyan officer was shot in the hand.
Area district commissioner Patrick Murila said the herdsmen attacked from a distance, adding that they were, however, repulsed.
"They attacked later in the evening. We have adequate personnel and machinery and all the cartridges we collected had nothing unusual," he added.
The area hit the headlines last week for heightening tension over the setting up of a security base on the Kenyan side of the border.
The camp has more than 200 officers drawn from the Administration Police and General Service Unit.
Police reservists came to the aid of the officers.
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