Tanzania began evicting Maasai pastoralists from the famed Ngorongoro conservation area on Thursday, in what rights activists described as illegal evictions.

For more than a century, the indigenous community has lived in the reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Tanzania. However, they are now facing eviction because authorities believe their growing population is encroaching on wildlife habitat. Officials insist that the relocation is entirely voluntary, but with the Maasais refusing to leave home; how is anything the officials doing voluntary?

The land, of course, is being bargained for a trophy-hunting ground for the UAE, which also entails encroaching on the wildlife habitats, yet this time with weapons and tools.

He claimed the government has set aside 162,000 hectares (400,000 acres) of land for relocated Maasai households. However, the community remains deeply divided on the issue, with most of the Maasais unwilling to leave the only home they have ever known.

The evictions have sparked concern, with a team of UN-appointed independent rights experts warning that "it could jeopardize the Maasai's physical and cultural survival."

"This will cause irreparable harm, and could amount to dispossession, forced eviction, and arbitrary displacement prohibited under international law," they said in a statement on Wednesday.

'Shocking brutality' 

According to the Maasai, the government is attempting to force them off their land in order to organize safaris and private hunting expeditions for tourists.

The government has denied these accusations, but the situation has resulted in clashes between pastoralists and police.

Last weekend, one officer was killed and several protesters were injured during demonstrations in the Ngorongoro district's Loliondo town, causing outrage among campaigners.

The protest erupted in response to the government's push to create a wildlife protection area on 1,500 square kilometers (550 square miles) of Loliondo.

يواجه الآلاف من شعب الماساي في تنزانيا الإخلاء من أراضي أجدادهم لتمهيد الطريق أمام شركة إماراتية متخصصة في تنظيم رحلات الصيد وسياحة السفاري لبرجوازية الخليج واثرياء العالم. pic.twitter.com/AQXKjltVds

— K.Diallo ☭ (@nyeusi_waasi) June 11, 2022

On Wednesday, Home Affairs Minister Hamad Masauni ordered police to carry out "verification and investigation of all NGOs operating" in Loliondo, claiming that "their operations should not disturb national security in any way."

"The government will take strong action against all the NGOs which violate the rules," he warned.

Amnesty International said on Wednesday the "unlawful forced eviction" in Loliondo was "shocking both in its scale and brutality." 

"Authorities must halt the ongoing demarcation and security operation in Loliondo, and begin genuine consultations with the community," it said.  

Thousands of Maasai families were evicted from Loliondo in 2009 to make way for an Emirati safari company, Ortelo Business Corporation, to organize hunting expeditions. Following allegations of corruption, the government canceled the deal in 2017.