Key Highlights
- Sunday, 16th August 2015, Credible OSINT report reveals that dozens of suspected Somali Al Shabaab fighters had sneaked into Kenyan village and lectured on locals before disappearing into a nearby forest.
- According to residents of Basuba village in the coastal region of Lamu, the Somali based jihadists warned the locals to shun police, refrain from boarding any military or police vehicles which they said they targeted them for attacks.
- The militants who wore jungle attire and with masked faces, threatened locals not to let them know about their presence or they would come back and deal with them.
- The villagers said among the militants, two men and two women who appeared to be of Caucasian origin arrived at 5 a.m. on Saturday.
- Following the incident a few locals have already left the area out of fear. However, Kenyan authorities have enhanced security in the coastal town of Lamu after Somali militants stormed a village and “preached” to the terrified villagers on Saturday.
Analysis
The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab has made a number of attacks on the Kenyan soil since the Kenyan troops first entered Somalia to fight them in 2011.
The jihadist group vowed to wage their campaigns until Nairobi withdraws the troops in Somalia; Kenyan troops are now part of an African Union peacekeeping force under AMISOM banner.
Al Shabaab aims to topple Somalia’s Western-backed government and impose its own strict version of Islamic law.
Al Shabaab in Somalia has suffered significant blows from AMISOM troops. Hundreds of militants have been killed in the past few weeks, camps have been destroyed. Though the militants are not completely weakened, they have lost strategic areas from which they were getting levies and supplies for their operations.
Al Shabaab militants are trying to cause fears among the locals by threatening them not to cooperate with the police.
Forecast
According to the intelligence gathered from the Basuba locals, the militants are trying to infiltrate the locals citing that they don’t want to hurt them rather their war was with the military and the police in Lamu.
Al Shabaab which has suffered serious blows from AMISOM troops in Somalia have disintegrated in small cells, credible intelligence show that considerable number of militants have crossed over to Kenya and are into hiding in Boni forest.
The militant maybe trying to woo the locals in Lamu so as to get their trust and start recruiting them as time goes by. They will then use the locals who are well versed with the area to orchestrate or plan for attacks.
However, Kenya security in Lamu lead by Chrispus Mutali, the Lamu County Administration Police Commander, urged the locals to stay calm and cooperate with police. Preemptive measure highly recommended by reporting any suspicious characters, activities and providing security authorities with information that will help in rooting out Al Shabaab remnants and not shunning security forces. Kenya’s security agencies doing anything possible to keep the country safe.
They neva succeed in jesus’ name
Guys in green linen, diapers on their heads donning flipflops still want people to listen to their warped bigotted ideologies?
But we should NOT be quick to say that (judging and condemning as our fathers do) but quick to cry as never before,’ Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, forgive our deep-rooted corrupt deals that has made God in his wrath release these locusts we call jiggers!’ We have to have no sense this time when crying and asking Jesus for his forgiveness. The sin of immorality in our country is at an unimaginable level, yet unless we are those who suffer from ignorance and misinformation, we have heavily inheriting the sin from our fathers. CRY TO JESUS FOR FORGIVENESS AND RIGHTEOUS LIFE IF YOU LOVE YOUR LIFE!
How do you expect ordinary Kenyans to buy the narrative you peddle the you have captured large swathes of territory from Al Shabab in Somalia when they terrorize us in our own backyard with such frequencies?
Given the frequency and the audacity of terrorists incursions into country, are we doing anything in a different way.
just warn all pastrolists to vacate boni forest.. carpet bomb it if you have to
y not comb it?
flee the innocent from the place the bomb or burn the Forest we’ll plant trees
we hav ready n wiling men n women..jus let em do their JOB
don’t you think thre are a threat to the nation n pple living ard the area .. wht if the decided to slaughter them instead of lecturing them hw many would av escaped …#jstthinkingloud
Is Boni forest in Kenya or Somalia?????
kenya my beloved country…God bless our soldiers as they fight and give them wisdom..kenya will never bend to the york of any terrorist,super power .
How can 100 Al shabaabs armed militant attack a village without being noticed by locals ? Thats means mchana ni wakenya wazalendo,usiku wanangeuka kuwa Al shabaabs! Now who is fooling who? Serikali imelala.
They shld av done that long ty,m ago
these guys reside in Boni forest. cant u do something with e forest if alshabab is unapprochable.
Locals stay alert, security agencies to up their game these jiggers might be planning something. God forbid
Is this forest a country or an area in kenya?
why should the security be heightened only after attacks and when Shabaabs are on their silly games?.. why can’t it always be there for any Kenyan any time?
The security personnel should follow those bandits since they r not far from there… Deploy some drones to survey the vast boni forest or use chemical to smoke them out
y not deploy kenya army on a killing spree? thats why we hav em aint it!
why the hell can’t the security personnel bomb the forest once and for all eish
kenyan security is alway beef and tightened AFTER the scene! wako nyuma xana
Beefed up security in Lamu? Alshabaab has out smartened you! They have detracted attention of security organs to Lamu n will hit a different location
If the KDF Rangers are afraid to go after the terrorists in the Boni forest, then the government should engage mercenaries (blackwater mercenaries) ASAP!.
Karangi asemaje?