One killed, two injured in Isiolo bandit attack
A herder grazes at Lafe area near Urura village in Merti, Isiolo County where four people were killed in Friday dawn attack by suspected bandits on January 8, 2021.
One person was shot dead while two others suffered serious injuries in a dawn bandit attack on Friday at Kom Durte in Chari ward, Isiolo County.
The three were travelling towards Merti when their vehicle was sprayed with bullets by bandits suspected to have come from Laisamis in Marsabit County.
Two died on the spot while the other two were injured when the vehicle rolled several times before landing in a ditch.
County Commissioner Geoffrey Omoding said police officers had been deployed to the area.
“A manhunt for the bandits is on and we have sent our officers to beef up security in the area,” Mr Omoding said.
Motorists and passengers who use the Losesia-Kom route have complained about harassment by armed herders from neighbouring counties.
Mr Omoding said the ongoing operation will flush out the armed herders who have been blamed for rising insecurity in the region.
“We are committed to ejecting the remaining illegal herders through the ongoing operation targeting hotspots like Kom,” he said.
Meanwhile, young people from Chari ward have appealed to the government to remove the armed herders. They said that many people had died and hundreds of livestock stolen.
Led by Mr Giro Boru and Mr Juma Golicha Guyo, they demanded enhanced security along the Losesia-Kom route, saying insecurity had claimed more than 10 lives in the last two months.
“The government should address insecurity in the region,” Mr Boru said.
They castigated local elected leaders, saying they had failed to address the killings of residents and theft of livestock.
Isiolo North MP Hassan Odha condemned the attack and demanded a declaration of Kom and Gotu locations as disturbed areas and an operation done to flush out the armed invaders.
He said following the spate of attacks, the Merti-Gotu road had been abandoned for the last one month.
"It's unacceptable for armed civilians to displace locals and attack motorists and passengers," Mr Odha said.
"Drought cannot be used as an excuse to invade. The armed civilians must retreat to their borders," he said.
