Kenya: Suspected Al-Shabaab attack in Mandera county March 1

Event

Suspected Al-Shabaab militants carried out an attack in Mandera county - located in the northeast of the country near the Somali border - on Thursday, March 1. Five police officers were killed and three others were seriously wounded. According to a local police source, the assailants also destroyed a mobile phone transmission mast, which is likely to disrupt communication services in the area.

Context

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. Al-Shabaab has been effectively at war with the Kenyan government since October 2011, when Kenyan forces engaged in the international fight against the terrorist group. 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 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.