Kenya security agencies in the coastal county of Lamu have launched a manhunt for al Shabaab returnees who secretly snuck into the country from Somalia. The suspects are said to have escaped the poor conditions experienced by the al Shabaab foreign fighters in the Horn of Africa country and refused to register to the authorities for rehabilitation and deradicalization.
The new operation is said to target families and communities hiding the returnees and will be charged with aiding and facilitating al Shabaab activities in the county and country at large.
Lamu County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri lauded communities by saying that a considerable number of communities have cooperated with security officers, but it’s unfortunate that there are some communities that have been hiding and aiding al-Shabab.
The returnees are being pursued to ensure that they are not in Kenya as part of sleeper cells of the terrorists that could be used to launch attacks on Kenyan civilian population especially in the holy month of Ramadhan. Kanyiri said the government has adequate intelligence that many of those posing as returnees are in fact spies for the militant group.
