The Kenyan authorities have deployed 600 police officers in the northwest region of Samburu to flush out bandits amid stiff resistance from the local leaders to the deployment of the military to restore peace in the area.

Internal Security Minister Katoo Ole Metito said investigators are pursuing two local leaders who participated in the brutal attack that has left at least 42 police officers dead and 11 others injured while five officers are still missing from the Nov. 10 massacre.

"We are now in pursuit of two councilors who participated in the attacks namely; Councilor Paul Edapal and Councilor Sospeter Erupe who happens to a an Ex-General Service Unit (GSU) Inspector, " Metito told journalists in Nairobi.

The minister said during the incident, 24 police officers and eight Kenya Police Reservists were shot dead, while three police officers and one police reservist sustained gunshot wounds.

"In addition, five police officers and two police reservists had soft tissue injuries and were flown to Nairobi on Sunday for treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital. They are in stable condition," he said.

According to Metito, two police officers were found alive on Wednesday, though five police officers are still missing since the attack in the Samburu County which is prone to cattle rustling.

The police officers were killed last Saturday while on a mission to hunt cattle rustlers in Suguta Valley after being ambushed and shot arbitrarily by heavily armed militiamen believed to have come from Turkana.

Fears have been expressed that the number of police officers killed by cattle rustlers in the troubled region could rise as some bodies are being discovered in a valley on Monday.

The armed bandits laid an ambush in Lomelok area before spraying the officers with bullets in an attack that baffled the local administration as well as residents of Baragoi.

Samburu County is made up of three districts namely; Samburu Central, Samburu East and Samburu north districts.

The county is inhabited mainly by the Samburu and Turkana communities although other communities are also represented in the major towns

The main economic activity is pastoralism with livestock being then name source of livelihood. These pastoralists essentially have illegal firearms which they have acquired over time from neighboring countries.

Metitu said the attack on the police officers has revealed the need to upgrade police equipment for better crime response in the future.

"This will require the government to procure specialized vehicles, specialized aircrafts equipped with surveillance equipment and ammo," he said.

"I assure Kenyans security agencies with the help on military aerial surveillance are doing everything within its ability to arrest the bandits and have them charged for robbery with violence and the 33 government firearms covered," he vowed.

He said the operation is targeting criminals and not innocent citizens or a particular community and called on members of the public to volunteer information on the perpetrators; financiers and persons processing illegal firearms.

The minister's remarks came as lawmakers from the cattle rustling prone region opposed the government's decision to send a contingent of Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) officers to flush out bandits who were still at large.

Labor Minister John Munyes led two other lawmakers in voicing their opposition to the deployment, saying the government acted too hastily and unwisely in sending the KDF officers to calm the area.

They also said that the deployment of troops in the area amounted to an illegal action which will hurt the voter registration process which is scheduled to start on Monday next week.

The lawmakers said the army must not be used against a single community over the brutal killing in Baragoi area of Samburu County caused by cattle rustling.

The legislators said the botched security operation on Saturday was poorly planned and executed leading to massive deaths of police officers and civilians. The MPs said it was wrong for the government to use the KDF who may use excessive force on civilians.

However, KDF said Wednesday they would exercise restraint in the operation to flush out criminals after receiving the directive from the National Security Council on Tuesday.

KDF spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna said already arrangements are underway to have considered on the ground to flush out bandits who killed police officers and stole their arms after driving away livestock.

"KDF will exercise the principle of minimum force, with utmost consideration and concern for innocent civilians to protect the locals from a heavily armed group of rustlers who are destabilizing the peace and stability in Samburu County and its environs," he said in a statement.

Oguna said KDF is helping with logistics, especially in the search, rescue and transfer of casualties to Nairobi for specialized treatment.

"KDF will deploy adequate force into Samburu County to aid civil authorities to protect the locals from a heavily armed group of rustlers who are destabilizing the peace and stability in Samburu County and its environs," Oguna said.

So far five people have been charged in connection with the massacre as security forces continue with the search and rescue operation in Suguta Valley which has been branded as the valley of death after a couple of people have been killed by the bandits.