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Landmine kills two in northeast

Two Kenyan police officers were killed on Thursday when their vehicle hit a landmine in the northeastern town of Marsabit. Eight more people were seriously injured in the incident. Kenyan police spokesman King'ori Mwangi told IRIN the mine could have been planted overnight by suspected armed bandits from neighbouring Ethiopia, who had also attacked the residence of a local chief. The officers were responding to reports of the attack on the administrator's house when the incident happened, King'ori added. "The mine must have been planted overnight. In Kenya we don't have the landmine problem," he stressed. He said this was the second time in a month that a landmine incident had been reported in the country. Suspected Ethiopian militia forces frequently crossed the border and attacked the local Borana community, he noted. The attackers, who were armed with heavy machine guns and hand grenades, also destroyed a local dispensary, Kingo'ri said. Security had been increased in the region as a result of the incident.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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