Kenya: Al-Shabaab attacks police camp in Lamu county July 18

Event

Media sources reported that suspected Al-Shabaab fighters attacked a General Service Unit (GSU) police camp in Lamu county on Tuesday, July 18. According to security sources, a group of militants approached the camp near Mokowe around 01:00 (local time). Guards exchanged gunfire with the fighters for approximately 20 minutes before the attackers withdrew from the area. Regional officials contradicted the reports, saying that the reported gunfire was GSU officers firing at suspicious movement near the camp as a precaution.

Context

On Monday, July 17, President Uhuru Kenyatta told supporters at a rally that the government will step up efforts to kill Al-Shabaab militants, particularly near the Boni Forest. Al-Shabaab has increased activity along the border region in recent months. According to media reports, at least 46 people had been killed in Lamu and Mandera counties as of July 8. Due to these security concerns, Lamu county, along with Tana River and Garissa counties, is currently under a 90-day curfew. The curfew is in effect from 8:30 to 06:30 (local time), during which people will be required to stay indoors unless they have a written permit provided by the local Deputy County Commissioner. The curfew is scheduled to end on October 9.

Al-Shabaab regularly carries out attacks near the porous border with Somalia where the group is based, as well as in coastal areas popular with tourists and the capital Nairobi. The militant group has been effectively at war with the country since Kenyan forces engaged in the international fight against the terrorist group beginning in October 2011. Al-Shabaab, which seeks to topple Somalia's government and impose its own harsh interpretation of Sharia law, says it will continue to carry out attacks in Kenya until Nairobi withdraws its troops from the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Advice

Individuals in Kenya are advised to report any suspicious objects or behavior to the relevant authorities and to be particularly cautious when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted in an attack (government buildings, places of worship, tourist sites, etc.). Due to these and other security concerns, many Western governments advise against travel to a number of regions in the country, including areas bordering Somalia (parts of Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, and Lamu counties), Ethiopia, and South Sudan, as well as nonessential travel to the city of Mombasa. Several Nairobi neighborhoods, including Eastleigh and Pangani, are also best avoided.