Gunmen at center of land dispute targeted

? The military sealed off a region of western Kenya where land disputes have flared into violence, and witnesses said helicopter gunships were strafing the area Thursday to try to drive gunmen from forests and caves.

“Always in this country, people are fighting over land,” said Lucy Okello, head nurse at Kitale District Hospital, where four girls were being treated for severe burns after their village was attacked, allegedly by the Sabaot Land Defense Force, a militia fighting for the redistribution of land.

Thirteen civilians were hacked, shot or burned to death in the attack last week. There was no claim of responsibility. A militia member said at the time that his group was simply trying to “correct historical injustices.”

The military operation at Mount Elgon comes despite a power-sharing agreement designed to end a wave of violence that erupted after a disputed election last December.