For nearly four years, one of the world's least known rebellions has plagued the northern quarter of Kenya near the border of the Somali Republic. Approximately 2,600 persons have died at the hands of the rebels or government forces. Last week, the Kenya government allowed newsmen into the area for the first time on a supervised tour. With an improbable mixture of guns, grenades, schools and clinics, the Kenya government is trying to put down a guerrilla rebellion here in the semidesert of northern Kenya. The government's targets are the disaffected Somalis who want nearly one quarter of Kenya to secede and become part of the neighboring Somali Republic. Kenya officials have a purpose in combining a social revolution with police action. They are convinced they can triumph over the Shifta, as the rebels are called, only if they can end the nomadic life of the Somalis and get them to settle down with villages, schools, health centers, and water wells...

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