MANDERA, Kenya – Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif has revealed that 60 percent of the county is under the control of al Shabaab militants.
Mohamed says the presence of the militants has affected service delivery in various parts of the county.
“We can’t deliver services in some areas. Al Shabaab controls more than 60 percent of the county which is affecting our work,” he said.
Governor Mohamed said his administration is unable to offer services to the public due to the al-Shabaab presence in the county.
“Mandera County, for example, 60 percent is controlled by Al-Shabaab. We cannot offer services and are only confined at the County Headquarters,” he said.
He spoke Wednesday during a security meeting in Wajir to find ways of dealing with the terror group insurgence in the North Eastern region where leaders called for concerted efforts in tackling the terrorist.
The security meeting was attended by regional commissioners and county security and intelligence committee members from four counties that lie along the Kenya-Somalia border.
The leaders deliberated on the increased incidence of attacks by al Shabaab. The leadership of the counties of Mandera, Wajir, Garissa and Lamu said the meeting, besides coming up with resolutions on how to counter the terrorists, called for community sensitization to weed out elements that support the terror outfit.
“This meeting among other issues discussed how to sensitize the local community against helping those seeking to cause insecurity in our region,” Wajir County Governor Ahmed Abdullahi said.
The meeting which comes against the backdrop of heightened al Shabaab activities that have targeted telecommunication masts and roads used by security personnel.
The leaders called for support from the national government to fight the group.
“While the national government is also focused on addressing national security, we need close coordination to fight Al-Shabaab and terrorism in the region,” Governor Abdullahi stated.
North Eastern Regional Commissioner John Otieno said community engagement is key to ending cross-border attacks by al Shabaab.
“We understand that these attacks are necessitated by the long and porous border we share with Somalia which has been unstable for a very long time. There is, therefore, a need for community engagement,” Otieno said.
Lack of local support has been the missing link in the war on terrorism in the area.
The terrorists have been attacking places near the Kenyan border by using guns and explosives leaving dozens dead and many injured.
The gang behind the attacks cross from Somalia and launch them amid a campaign to address the issue. Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991. Kenyan troops are in Somalia under African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) to help in fighting the al Shabaab terror group. KDF went to Somalia in October 2011.
Source: Kahawa Tungu
