Kenyan forces again accused of torture, rape

* Anti-militia sweep left 1,200 hurt, dozen raped, HRW says

* Group wants police head and attorney-general to go

* Police spokesman denies allegations

(Adds police reaction)

By Andrew Cawthorne

NAIROBI, June 29 (Reuters) - Security forces tortured scores of men and raped a dozen women in a sweep against the mainly ethnic Somali population of remote northeast Kenya intended to disarm militias, a rights group said on Monday.

The accusation by U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) of brutalities in a late 2008 operation adds to a litany of allegations against Kenya's army and police in the past few years of terrorising and killing in security sweeps.

"This is not a question of a few bad apples disobeying orders," said Kenneth Roth, HRW executive director. "This operation was the result of a strategy devised by senior officials to use brutal force against Kenyans."

Echoing the recommendation of a U.N. report on abuses by Kenyan security forces, Roth urged the removal of the east African nation's police commissioner and attorney-general.

The security forces routinely deny allegations of abuse. They say rights groups swallow politically motivated accounts by activists.

"The story of torture and rape by our forces does not exist. Anyone who says so needs psychiatric help," police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told Reuters.

"We have incidents of one or two officers committing crime and these are found guilty of unprofessional conduct. But these stories (of torture) are a terrible offence," he said.

HRW said the October 2008 operation to disarm warring militias in the Mandera region -- a notoriously violent area where the borders of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia meet -- left more than 1,200 injured, one dead, and at least 12 women raped.

"The Kenyan army and police targeted 10 towns and villages, rounding up the population, beating and torturing male residents en masse, and indulging in widespread looting and destruction," it said, terming it a "deliberate and brutal attack" on locals.



GENITALS CRUSHED

As well as constant beating, "some men had their genitals pulled with pliers, tied with wire, or beaten with sticks as a method of torture", the report added.

At the time of the operation, police and army officials said they were purging an arms-infested region for the good of the population. Scores die every year in inter-clan fights and cross-border raids, mainly over scant resources in the arid region that has suffered repeatedly from drought.

The HRW report came as Kenya's security chiefs face a barrage of accusations for their tactics in repressing rebels in Mount Elgon region, cracking down on the outlawed Mungiki gang, and shooting protesters after the last presidential election.

"Kenya needs to make absolutely clear to security forces that they will be held accountable for serious abuses," Roth said. "The right way to start is to conduct independent inquiries into these brutal operations in Mandera and to remove the police commissioner and attorney general."

Both men have rejected previous calls to step down, and President Mwai Kibaki appears reluctant to move against them despite the damage to Kenya's international reputation from the allegations against his security forces. (Additional reporting by Abdi Sheikh) (nairobi.newsroom@reuters.com; +254 20 222 4717)