On Sunday, bandits launched a daytime retaliatory attack in the volatile Seretion village in Mochongoi ward, Baringo South, injuring a police reservist and stealing over 200 heads of livestock.
The attack occurred after joint military-police teams deployed to the area to tame bandit activity bombed the dreaded Korkoron and Tandar Hills on Friday morning in an attempt to flush out the bandits.
Locals confirmed seeing two military helicopters flying around the two hills in the morning and bombing them for nearly two hours.
"Three hours later, we were taken aback when we saw the bandits come out of their hideouts to graze their livestock at the top of the hills as usual, making us wonder what the bombs were targeting," said a local, The Reverend Richard Ng'etuny.
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After the military attack, At 1 pm, armed criminals from the neighbouring Tiaty sub-county attacked Seretion. They made away with an unknown number of stolen livestock towards the Korkoron Hills in the same area.
Seretion village is one of the areas in Baringo County that is under surveillance by the government for increased bandit activity.
Abdirisack Jaldesa, the Baringo County Commissioner, confirmed the incident, saying that preliminary reports indicated that a police reservist was shot and that the bandits stole an unknown number of cattle and headed towards the Korkoron hills.
"A police reservist sustained gunshot injury but we are yet to ascertain the extent of the injury. Livestock were also driven away by the bandits, but the officers are still engaging them to recover the herd," said the county administrator.
Following a military operation, bandits carried out retaliatory attacks in Kalemng'orok, Turkana, killing two and injuring at least four. The attack came after an earlier aerial military operation injured several people at a livestock market near the Kalemng'orok seasonal river in Turkana South.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki told the Senate National Cohesion Committee last Thursday that over 43 guns, 136 rounds of ammunition, and two fragmented rifle grenades were surrendered by civilians.
