Three people were shot dead in lkek -Sabuki area after gunmen raided a village in Samburu County.
The deceased included a chief in the area.
Two other National Police Reservists who were missing were found alive after a long search, police said.
The two NPRs were found with injuries together with three other civilians.
The attacks happened Friday evening and Saturday morning as interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki visited the region to oversee an ongoing operation to get rid of illegal firearms in the hands of civilians.
Police and witnesses said the bandits raided four villages Friday evening in the same county and managed to steal an unknown number of livestock.
An unknown number of security personnel and bandits were injured in a gun battle that ensued.
Witnesses said the injured included three officers-two Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers and a General Service Unit (GSU) officer- who are nursing serious gunshot injuries after a fierce encounter with bandits in Pura, Samburu West on Friday evening.
The injured were airlifted to Nairobi.
The villages attacked include Lesilampa, Lekirishati, Lempoko and Lengoseg where cows were stolen and one shot dead in the crossfire.
The multiagency troops drawn from Kenya Defence Forces and the National Police Service are pursuing the bandits to recover the animals stolen and neutralize the enemy, police said.
On Friday, Kindiki said he spent the day in the field, reviewing the status of deployment & the progress and challenges facing the ongoing security operation in parts of Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Laikipia and Samburu Counties.
He said the massive deployment of security agents in the North Rift Region is permanent and will outlive the current operation to flush out livestock-stealing bands of terrorists who have caused immeasurable human suffering in this area for nearly a century.
“The government will ensure this problem is eradicated for good & that long-term social, economic infrastructural interventions are made to integrate the economy, bridge developmental gaps and ensure shared prosperity for our country.”
“For us to fix the developmental challenges of this and other equally placed parts of our country we must first silence the guns everywhere, for good,” he said.
Samburu West MP Naisula Lesuuda condemned the attack and wished quick recovery to the injured personnel.
She protested the ongoing attacks by gunmen in the area saying it is affecting their life in general.
“The latest incident happened 17 kilometres from Maralal town and it is unfortunate we have officers who are injured. What are we staring at now?” She posed.
“Only yesterday did I give an update on the situation on the ground where the bandits continue with impunity to terrorize the residents of Samburu West. It is sad that the military and GSU unit on the ground encountered it first-hand this evening. Quick recovery to the injured,” she said in a tweet.
Lesuuda added:
“The family of Lelesara have now lost two people in a very short span of time. All this is happening about 20 kilometres from Maralal - County HQ. The bandits are now grazing and watering their livestock 17 kilometres from Maralal.”
The ongoing operation has since seen up to 23 firearms and dozens of bullets recovered mainly in Samburu.
Kindiki imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in banditry-prone areas as he declared them disturbed and dangerous.
The 30 days curfew began on February 14, 2023, but it seems it is not detecting the attacks.
Kindiki said some areas in counties including Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Laikipia, and Samburu will be affected.
