By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Following recent attacks on its soil attributed to radical Al-Shabaab Islamists, Kenya on Wednesday said it would delay the planned reopening of its border with Somalia.
“The government will postpone the scheduled reopening of border points between Kenya and Somalia until we conclusively address the recent spate of terrorist attacks and cross-border crimes ,” Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said during a visit. at Dadaab refugee camp in far eastern Kenya, near Somalia.
A recent spate of attacks at different occasions which led to the deaths of five civilians and eight police officers near the border was attributed to al-Qaeda -affiliated group Al-Shabaab.
The phased reopening of Mandera, Lamu, and Garissa border posts could not take place as announced in May, Kindiki stated on Wednesday.
The border was officially closed in October 2011 due to attacks by Al-Shabaab, who have been waging an insurgency against the federal government in Mogadishu for more than 15 years.
The two countries had announced in July 2022 their intention to reopen the border during talks between Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, but this never materialized.
But on May 15, following a high-level ministerial meeting in Nairobi, officials from the two countries agreed to the gradual reopening of three border crossings.
Mandera was expected to reopen within 30 days of the announcement, followed by Garissa within 60 days and Lamu within 90 days.
But on June 13, eight Kenyan police officers were killed in Garissa when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.
On June 24, five civilians had their throats slit in an attack claimed by Al-Shabaab in Lamu near the Somali border; some were beheaded.
