Kenyan Wildlife Shootout

Kenyan Wildlife Shootout



May 2007 -   Three Kenya Wildlife Service rangers 
lost their lives Saturday when they were gunned down by a gang of 
suspected poachers during an operation in the Tana River District, about 
215 miles southeast of the capital Nairobi. 
The Kenya Wildlife Service says the three rangers were part of a seven 
member ranger force that was on patrol Saturday at 2 am in the Idsowe Area 
of Tana River when they were attacked by a gang of armed men. 
During an exchange of fire, the rangers killed four poachers while others 
escaped with injuries, according to Paul Udoto, a spokesman for the Kenya 
Wildlife Service. The poachers were crossing the Tana River from the east 
bank to the western side of the river. 
Two AK 47 assault rifles and two axes were among the items recovered from 
the scene of the attack, Wildlife Service officials said. 
During the same operation, another ranger was seriously injured and was 
taken to Ngao Hospital in Tarasaa. Wildlife Service officials say 
Abdirizak Dahir Ahmed underwent treatment and now is out of danger. 
Wounded survivor Ranger Abdirizak Dahir Ahmed awaits takeoff in a small 
plane on his way to Nairobi for medical treament. 
He was flown Saturday to Wilson Airport in Nairobi and taken to another 
hospital to have bullets removed from his body. 
The bodies of the three dead rangers were flown to Nairobi and taken to 
the mortuary for a postmortem examination. 
An intensive hunt for the poachers who escaped is currently underway. It 
involves the Kenya Wildlife Service rangers, the police and the local 
administration. 
Kenya Wildlife Service Director Julius Kipng’etich and other senior 
security officers are on the ground coordinating the operation. Police 
Spokesman Eric Kiraithe says reinforcements have been sent to the area. 
Kenya is now on the frontlines of a battle against poaching. The 
government has been applauded by conservationists for opposing moves to 
lift the current ban on trade in elephant ivory that is on the agenda at 
the upcoming meeting of the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species in June.    

       
      

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