Police confirmed the incident and said they suspected Maasai herdsmen who were grazing in the Eburru forest near the town of Naivasha, 90 kilometres (55 miles) northwest of the capital, were responsible for the attack.

But witnesses insisted the attackers were among youths, hired by the government, who on Thursday helped police raze some 300 thatched huts in the forest.

The eviction squad made 4,000 people homeless in the latest of a long-running tussle between squatters and the government.

"The same hired youths who demolished and burned our houses are the ones who attacked us with all kinds of crude weapons," said Charles Mbuthia, who was living in the camp.

"We have called the police yet no action has been taken. These are government plans to permanently evict us from this land, but we will not move come what may."

Naivasha police commander Simon Kiragu said a group of security officials had been dispatched to the area but no arrests had been made.

"We have sent police to the area but no arrests have been made so far," Kiragu told AFP. "We believe the attackers could be Maasai herders who are currently in the forest with their animals."

The government has continued with the forceful eviction despite a court injunction issued last month after some 50,000 people were violently thrown out another forest further south, drawing complaints from human rights groups.

Naivasha District Officer Kaunda Maikara said last week that authorities had been forced to act because the squatters were defying government orders to vacate the 12,000-acre (4,860-hectare) forest, which is considered a key water catchment basin for the region.

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