Armed militia besiege Kenyan village, seize police posts

Armed militiamen on Saturday laid siege to a village in northern Kenya where they also seized three police posts, amid a territorial dispute between local communities, Kenyan authorities said. "Armed militiamen believed to be from the Pokot community are holding three police camps hostage in Lorokon village, Turkana county," said the National Disaster Operations Center in a tweet. "The siege follows a border dispute between the Pokot and Turkana communities," it said. "Police officers and reservists (are) combating the bandits in Turkana, but there is heavy resistance." The regional governor told the Kenyan press agency (KNA) that the village was facing a humanitarian crisis after having been besieged for four days by "armed criminals". "More than 900 people, mostly women and children, cannot go out to look for water and food because they are surrounded by gunmen," Josphat Nanok was quoted as saying. Kenya's interior ministry said in a tweet that it was handling the siege and has imposed a curfew in the area. The war-like Turkana and Pokot tribes often clash, mostly over cattle rustling.