Sudan raiders kill two Kenyan soldiers: army

Two Kenyan army personnel were killed by raiders from neighbouring Sudan as they patrolled the country’s border, a spokesman with the defence department told Reuters.

The two, who were attached to the Natabal border patrol base on the Kenya-Sudan boundary, were ambushed and killed on Sunday morning, Bogita Ongeri said.

“An additional number of security men have arrived at Natabal border area. Our forces have not moved into Sudan, they have strengthened security and are investigating the incident,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Raiders from Sudan frequently cross into northern Kenya to steal livestock from herder communities living in the remote region.

Periodically, fighting erupts between south Sudan’s Toposa tribe and neighbouring Kenya’s Turkana tribe over cattle and grazing rights.

However, tensions have been rising in southern Sudan ahead of national elections in April. The south, where civilians carry weapons after decades of civil war and a lack of strong government in rural areas, saw at least 2,500 killed in tribal clashes last year.

Ongeri said Kenya was working with Sudan to arrest the gang responsible for the killings and added that no weapons were lost during the attack.

Reuters.