DHOBLEY, Somalia — Somalis with new uniforms and guns they say were bought by Kenya’s government are supposed to be guarding the Somali-Kenya border against al-Qaeda-linked militants. But many don’t get paid, and some sell their weapons or prey on refugees fleeing famine.
This new breed of gunman in an area awash with weapons is making the trek from Somalia’s parched landscape even more dangerous for thousands of defenseless refugees.
Among the latest victims of the lawlessness were a 13-year-old girl and her two sisters, who fled Somalia with their parents. After the family crossed into Kenya, gunmen stopped their donkey cart, robbed the parents and kidnapped the girls.
The three young sisters were gang-raped for two days before being released, the teen told an Associated Press reporter, then buried her face in her shawl. It was not clear if the attackers were members of the border militia or outlaws who had bought their guns.
Aid groups operating around the sprawling Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya say many refugees have been attacked by gunmen, some of whom may have come from the so-called Jubaland militia that guards the Somali-Kenya border.
Militiamen “come to the refugee areas and disturb them,” said Sabik Shakuku, a Kenyan who receives funding from the Pan African Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution. “We have told the government but they have not taken action.”
Kenyan police arrested three deserters from the border force on Saturday for trying to sell their weapons, said Nelson Tatliti, the deputy officer in charge of the police station at Dadaab. “These are the ones causing problems on the border,” he said.
A Kenyan government spokesman did not return calls seeking comment. Kenya has long asserted the presence of al-Shabab, an Islamist militant group that controls huge swaths of southern Somalia near its border, is a major security threat — one reason the government would back a border
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