NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 11- Two General Service Unit officers were on Wednesday shot dead in an ambush attack at the Laikipia Nature Conservancy, in the expansive Laikipia County. Another one, a police inspector, sustained gunshot injuries.
Police officers privy of the details of the attack said there was a fierce shootout that left the two officers killed.
Armed bandits attacked the officers just a few metres from Kamwenje police base in Laikipia West, prompting a shootout.
It is not clear if there were deaths on the side of the bandits.
A reinforcement arrived there minutes later and rescued their colleagues who had been trapped and were calling for help. Police in the area said the attackers were armed with rifles and were ready for a war.
The injured officer was evacuated for medical attention.
Rift Valley police boss Francis Ochieng told Shahidi News that a contingent of police officers was already pursuing the gang behind the incident.
“We have reinforcements on the ground pursuing the attackers,” he said.
The incident comes at a time when more personnel have been deployed to the area to flush out armed herders who have invaded private ranches for pasture.
The military is part of a multi-agency team leading the operation.
Up to 15 police officers have been killed and ten others injured in the past five months in the violence in the area.
On October 28, three police officers were killed in the same area in an ambush.
The officers were patrolling the expansive conservancy when they were ambushed by a gunman believed to be a sniper.
Authorities said the officers were riding in an armored vehicle when they came under attack.
The driver of the vehicle panicked and lost control forcing it to overturn. And as the occupants stepped out of the vehicle thinking it was safe, they were shot at by a gunman who escaped from the vicinity.
The government has been ordering the herders in the private ranches to leave but some have defied the orders.
An operation was mounted in the area following repeated attacks on locals and security agencies by gunmen believed to be herders.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i led a high delegation to oversee ongoing operation in the area against armed men.
Matiang’i commissioned the construction of new sub-county headquarters to enhance operations.
Chief of Defence Forces Gen Robert Kibochi had also landed in the troubled areas and assured locals of security.
As part of efforts to restore order, Matiang’i announced the creation of a police division at Ol Moran with enough officers to patrol.
Ol-Moran was gazetted as the headquarter for the Kirima sub-county.
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