 Police shot the protesters with live bulle |
Kenyan police have arrested 16 Somali MPs and other government officials in a raid on suspected illegal migrants in the capital, Nairobi, officials say.
About 300 people were picked up in the raid in the Eastleigh district, home to a large ethnic Somali population. Prominent Kenyan Muslim leader Al-Amin Kimathi has also been arrested.
The raid follows violent clashes on Friday between police and groups protesting at plans to deport a controversial Muslim cleric.
Kenyan Internal Security Minister George Saitoti has accused Somali militant Islamist group al-Shabab of links to the clashes, which left at least five people dead.
But an al-Shabab spokesman told the BBC this was not true.
Kenya has played host to many rounds of talks aimed at bringing peace to Somalia and many Somali officials are based there because of the lack of law and order at home.
 Al-Amin Kimathi helped organised Friday's protests |
Officials at Somalia's embassy in Nairobi confirmed that government officials, including former army General Yusuf "Dumal" Hussein, had been arrested.
They are due to appear in court later on Monday.
The officials stressed that those arrested held valid visas but this was disputed by a senior police official who spoke to the AFP news agency.
"The security operation is part of the investigation going on after Friday's demonstrations by Muslim youths in the city centre," the unnamed officer said.
Mr Kimathi heads the Muslim Human Rights Forum, which helped organised the protest that called for the release of Jamaica-born Abdullah al-Faisal.
Faisal has been jailed in the UK for calling for the murder of Jews and Hindus.
He was arrested on 31 December but Kenya has been unable to deport him because few countries are unwilling to host him.
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