Military action underway in Kenya

A major military operation is under way to seize tens of thousands of illegal firearms from communities involved in cattle raids in western Kenya. The BBC reports that the practice of cattle rustling has become an occupational hazard among pastoralists, but is increasingly taking on a tribal nature and becoming more violent. In return for handing over their weapons and identifying the culprits, the communities are being promised more security for their cattle and more development assistance for their villages. It is estimated that thousands have fled across the border, taking their animals and their weapons with them, unwilling to surrender their livelihood and their only means of defence.