Lions attack villages in Kenya

NAIROBI - At least three villagers are reported to have been killed in eastern Kenya by lions besieging villages in an attempt to find their offspring.

According to senior politicians in the Garissa region the attacks began after a Somali militia near the border with Kenya stole three cubs.

Eyewitnesses claim a pride of 15 lions attacked homes in Liboi and Kulan in the Garissa district of Kenya on Sunday night, while villagers were asleep. Police reported that at least three people died and a further two were seriously injured.

It follows a series of incidents over the past two weeks where herdsmen in Garissa have been attacked by lions. One man was mauled to death as he fetched water from a well.

In a similar attack, a pride of 10 lions encircled villagers retrieving water at a well in Liboi, before police intervened. At one stage, lions even invaded the local police station, allegedly forcing armed officers to run away in terror.

As well as targeting humans, the lions have killed around 50 goats and more than a dozen cows. Most of the attacks have been on herdsmen out in the countryside.

But on one occasion the lions wandered into the main town of Liboi, ten miles from the Somali border. Police officers fired into the air as people ran for safety.

According to the area chief, Abdullahi Rage, deaths are only just starting to be confirmed.

Some of the victims were originally reported as missing only for their bodies to be discovered later in the thickets. Mr Rage said 23 lions in total have been spotted in the area.

Local politicians have called on the Kenyan government to help protect residents from the lions and to compensate the families of the victims.

They have also suggested cross-border meetings with Somali community leaders in an attempt to secure the release of the cubs and prevent further kidnappings.

Officials from the Kenya Wildlife Service have tried to retrieve the cubs from the Somali militiamen on two occasions. However, each time they travelled to the border to negotiate with the militia, they were rebuffed.

It is claimed that the militiamen demanded a ransom for the safe return of the cubs. According to pastoralists who witnessed the kidnapping, soldiers belonging to the Somalia Patriotic Movement, based in the town of Dobley 20 miles inside Somalia from the Kenyan border, took the cubs from a lioness two weeks ago.

They fired several shots into the air as the other lions in the pride charged at them. While attacks have been documented in Kenya it is not yet known how many people have been killed by the lions within Somalia.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said they suspect the militia men have been paid to steal the cubs, which are then sold on at markets in Somalia.

However, the KWS, which has been criticised for not containing the lions, disputed the number of people who have died.

A spokesman for the organisation claimed that only one person has so far been killed by the lions.

"We have sent our people onto the ground. If the lions are a threat appropriate action will be taken," said Gichuki Kabukuru of the KWS.

- INDEPENDENT