Ethnic Gangs Rile Kenyan Slums

The ethnic violence that has ripped through Kenya since December's disputed election is particularly gruesome between gangs in the slums of Nairobi, Newsweek reports. On one side is the self-proclaimed “Taliban,” a group dedicated to protecting their Luo tribe, and imposing order and justice much like their Afghan namesake. Their enemies are the Mungiki, a Kikuyu gang rumored to drink blood during ritualized killings.

The Mungiki have long been a problem in Kenya, and though rumor has its members throughout the police and government, President Mwai Kibaki, himself a Kikuyu, seemed to be fighting them. Now they protect the Kikuyu and the poor—in brutal fashion. “If you are Luo, they chop you,” said one "Taliban" member. “So what do you think we do?” (More Kenya stories.)