There is no doubt that al-Shabaab is operating with increasing impunity inside Kenya; see, for example, here and here. Al-Shabaab is also flush with cash, collecting more every month than the Somali government. That means that even if Roba is exaggerating, al-Shabaab is emboldened, and will be even more by the weakness and appeasement of jihad groups that the Biden administration will initiate soon.
“Mandera is at risk of being under Shabaab,” by Ali Roba, The Standard, January 12, 2021 (thanks to Oliver):
Fellow Kenyans, I have been forced to go public about the deteriorating security situation in North Eastern Kenya, and particularly Mandera County.
Our people are living in fear following the return of Al Shabaab militants, who have occupied strategic locations in the county and region. The Al Shabaab are getting bolder and more aggressive by the day.
What is it that we are not doing right as a country that our neighbours like Ethiopia are doing to have their borders free of Al Shabaab? A radical review and redesign of our security programme as it relates to fighting terrorism is required because evidently, we are failing miserably.
A serious security crisis is unfolding within Mandera County, caused by the undeterred movement of the terrorists within the county. This situation has been worsening over the last three months but has now reached unprecedented levels.
The terrorists have been collecting livestock by force from helpless pastoralists in the name of Zakkat (offering).
There is a need for change of approach in how we deal with this situation, otherwise, we will soon be under the rule of the terrorists. Already, Al Shabaab manages more than 60 per cent of Mandera with the will of the public suppressed by terror.
They roam freely and the public has been reporting about their movements (actionable intelligence), unfortunately, the situation has kept going from bad to worse.
The terrorists boldly film their actions and why they do this remains unclear.
Recently, Al Shabaab attacked an ambulance evacuating an expectant mother to the hospital, killed her husband and injured the driver and a nurse. Luckily, the mother managed to escape to a nearby bush. They later torched the ambulance that was owned by the County Government.
Omar Adan Buul, an assistant chief who was vocal against Al Shabaab, was abducted on December 18 and beheaded in the cruellest manner in Wajir County along the border with Mandera. His head was thrown into the bush.
A police post was attacked and a new building flattened by explosives. Mobile phone transmission stations are regularly attacked and masts felled, cutting off residents from the rest of the country and world.
Reports of security officers killed in the line of duty are on the increase. Highways in Mandera County are now controlled by Al Shabaab militants who harass travellers and target civil servants.
The government has failed to completely protect Northern Kenya from Al Shabaab. As it stands, the ugly truth is that Al Shabaab has taken control of over 50 per cent of the landmass of Northern Kenya. The public must now stand up and help the government, by all means, possible to get rid of this terror group….
katherine says
Obama must persuade Biden to provide al-Shabaab with more lethal weapons so that Kenya will mercifully be pacified without much bloodshed .
Peace can thus be achieved quickly and the New America will reward the Islamic Republic of Kenya with military and financial aid to assist in creating a harmonious political ecosphere in East Africa.
Palladini says
Time for the NATO group to go in clean those Morons out. The More Ismamists you kill, the better the world will be.
mortimer says
The solution to Islamism is the same one everywhere: to show Muslims the evidence that the Koran is of human origin.
gravenimage says
Kenya: County governor warns that jihad terror group ‘has taken control of over 50 per cent of Northern Kenya’
…………….
Things are even worse there than I had thought.
Shir Wup says
Better tackled before it gets out of control