Kenya bans livestock movement

Somali traders have been banned from trading their livestock in Kenya because some of their number were allegedly using it as cover to trade in arms and other contraband, and because it had contributed to an increase in livestock diseases in northern Kenya. North Eastern Provincial Commissioner Maurice Makhanu told Kenyan community leaders of the ban at a meeting in the provincial capital of Garissa at the weekend, saying the decision had been taken to stem the flow of arms and rising insecurity in the region, the PanAfrican News Agency (PANA) reported. Makhanu said the Kenyan authorities had also reinstated military camps at Amuuma and Liboi that were closed two years ago, but had overruled the disbandment of refugee camps - demanded by local leaders - because it could violate the international conventions on refugees.