HRW criticizes Kenya for crackdown on militants

Human Rights Watch has criticized Kenya for its deadly crackdown on militants, saying dozens of people have died or
disappeared without a trace after being arrested by security forces.

In a report issued late on Tuesday, the HRW said it had documented 34 cases in which people suspected of having ties to the Somalia-based al-Shabab militant group went missing after their homes were raided and they were detained by security forces.

“Months, and in some cases over a year, later, suspects have not been charged with any crimes and families cannot locate them,” the HRW said in a statement.

Kenya has stepped up its crackdown on militants since deadly attacks took place in the country last year. The East African country, which is involved in joint military operations against the Shabab militants in neighboring Somalia, has suffered from bombings and attacks by members of the group. Nearly 150 people were killed in one such attack at a university in the northeastern town of Garissa last year.

The HRW said, however, that dozens of people have died or disappeared without a trace after being detained by Kenyan security forces.

It said it had documented at least 11 cases over the past two years in which bodies of people arrested by security forces were discovered in areas far away from the location of their arrest.

The New York-based rights group called on the Kenyan government to stop abuses in the communities living in the northeast near the border with Somalia.

“Rounding people up and refusing to disclose their whereabouts is a serious crime and only compounds fears and mistrust in the security forces,” said Ken Roth, the executive director of the HRW.

Officials in the Kenyan government dismissed the HRW report, but said domestic bodies should investigate the allegations.

“These are just claims,” said Mwenda Njoka, the spokesman for Kenya's Interior Ministry, adding that Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority should determine any culpability.

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