sweeps

"Security forces tortured scores of men and raped 12 women in a sweep against the mainly ethnic Somali population of remote north-east Kenya, where their task late last year was to disarm militias. The accusation by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in the US is the latest in a list of allegations made in the past few years that Kenyan soldiers and police engaged in security sweeps have resorted to terrorising and killing civilians."