By Fabian Mangera and Stephen Ingati
MANDERA, Kenya, (PNA/Xinhua) — The Kenyan government has closed police posts with less than 30 police officers in the border town of Mandera following increased attacks by militants from Somalia.
The East African nation has been rocked by a string of grenade and bomb attacks since it sent troops into Somalia two years ago in pursuit of Islamist Al-Shabaab insurgents whom it blamed for kidnapping its security personnel and Western tourists.
Mandera County Commissioner Michael Toilel confirmed on Thursday the police posts were closed down following possible Al- Shabaab attack where police camps were attacked and targeted by militia groups.
“The security arm of the government was doing everything possible to make sure that the area is safe for everyone working and doing business in the region,” Toilel told Xinhua in Mandera.
The closure of the posts comes two weeks after two police officers were killed in Mandera, government office bombed and 12 vehicles burnt by raiders suspected to be from the Al-Shabaab militia.
The government administrator said contingent of police officers and the military have instead been deployed into the border areas where they are conducting operations to flush out the suspects.
Already the government had closed down the 11 Administration police posts and several others in Mandera on Wednesday following the recent attack on police camps.
Toilel said the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) have also camped and sealed the border area as they mount operation in the region.
“We are optimistic that the contingent of security officer will arrest all those who were behind the attacks in the region. We do not want any other further attacks in our soil,” he said.
The attacks on the Kenyan soil have increased since Kenyan soldiers, along side other Africa Union (AU) forces launched onslaught against the southern Somali port of Kismayu, Al- Shabaab’s last stronghold, forcing the rebels to flee.
Toilel said the officers drawn from General Services Unit, Administration Police and the Regular Police have taken charge of the border areas with regular patrols.
He said the police have also embarked on screening services and getting records of those visiting the regions in an effort to minimize risks following the recent attacks.
A herder in Mandera, Ahmed Ali welcomed the closure of the posts, adding that such camps have become targets for the militia groups.
“The security apparatus have been deployed into the areas and there was no need to have the posts because they will be vulnerable with little capacity to handle such situations,” said Ali.
He said some posts only host five to ten officers in the remote locations that don’t have network and good communication.
Several civilians including policemen have been killed in the northern counties of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera which are near the border with Somalia.
Subsequent efforts to fight terrorism and neutralize Al-Shabaab threats have seen anti-terrorism police unit arrest dozens of other Kenyans on suspicion of being members of the Somali terror group.
It is such suspects, and dozens others, born and bred in Kenya and who are believed to be sympathizers of Al-Shabaab that the East African nation is grappling with in its fight against terror.
Police have said that most of those who are being used to carry out terror attacks in Kenya are its own youth, who have been enlisted in the Somali-based extremist group.