US urged to stop backing Kenyan military over rights abuses

Kenya's military has killed dozens of men and tortured hundreds more since March during a counterinsurgency campaign in the remote western Mt. Elgon region, according to a report released on July 28.. Human Rights Watch, which described the actions of the army and the Sabaot Land Defense Force (SLDF) militia group it targeted as "war crimes," called on the US and British governments to suspend all military aid to Kenya until an investigation into the abuses is carried out. Though Kenya's government denies any wrongdoing by its security forces, three previous reports by other human rights or aid groups corroborate the allegations of state-sponsored torture and murder. The rebellion in Mt. Elgon, near the border with Uganda, began in 2006 when the SLDF began an armed struggle to protest against illegal land allocations and forced resettlement of local communities. After taking effective control of the area, the SLDF murdered more than 600 people and engaged in widespread human rights abuses, including cutting off victims' ears and sewing up their mouths. More than 100,000 people had been displaced by the rebellion by early this year. In March, the military was sent into the villages and forests around Mt. Elgon to flush out the rebels. Initially residents welcomed the army presence, but relief soon turned to terror, according to local rights groups. Thousands of adult and teenage males were indiscriminately arrested and taken for "screening" at military camps and told to identify SLDF fighters. Many of them emerged from the camps with horrific injuries having been severely beaten on the legs, genitals and back. Some reported being forced to whip and bite each other. The torture appears to have been systematic. The aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières, which has since been blocked by the government from working in the area, reported treating 252 victims of "intentional trauma" during March and April, while the Kenya Red Cross saw more than 1,400 victims of the army operation in just three weeks. A rights group in western Kenya said at least 72 people were killed during the counterinsurgency campaign, with some of the bodies loaded on to military helicopters and then dropped in the forest. While the SLDF has been severely weakened and the army offensive scaled down, at least 37 people arrested by security forces are still missing, Human Rights Watch said. "The 'successful' operation to tackle the rebellion in Mt. Elgon has come at a terrible cost," said Georgette Gagnon, the organization's Africa director. "The government should urgently produce those who have disappeared and ensure that those responsible for torture and other crimes, including the commanders, are held accountable." Kenya's army receives around $20 million in military assistance each year from the US and UK, which provides training to troops on regional stability and border security. One of the Kenyan army units heavily involved in the Mt. Elgon operation, 20 Para, has recently received British training, according to Human Rights Watch. The British high commissioner in Nairobi has previously called for an independent inquiry into the army abuses in Mt. Elgon, but stopped short of threatening to review military aid.