http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2932007.stm

Army investigates Kenya rape claims

Military police have flown to Kenya to investigate claims British troops raped and abused local women. More than 150 Masai women who live in the area around Dol Dol, near Mount Kenya, claim they were raped by soldiers mainly in the 1980s and 1990s.

A team from the Special Investigations Branch of the Royal
Military Police flew out to Kenya on Sunday to investigate the
claims, a UK Ministry of Defence spokesman told BBC News
Online.

"The inquiries are ongoing," he said.

The team, which is due to return to the UK next week, is
being led by Major John Wooldridge, according to the Kenyan
newspaper the Daily Nation.

London-based solicitor Martyn Day is preparing to launch a
civil action against the army for compensation for the women.

He is also in Kenya having made a number of trips there
already to collect evidence over the allegations.

Civil action

The civil rights lawyer won a £4.5m settlement last year for
the Masai people killed and injured by mines left on their land
by the British Army.

He is demanding the MoD accept liability for damages for the
injury caused to the women.

It is expected that the military police will interview alleged
rape victims and local chiefs.

The British High Commission in Kenya has previously said no
official complaint against troops has been filed.