Al-Shabaab militants sneak into Kenya, 'preach' to villagers for 30 minutes

LAMU, Kenya - At least 100 heavily armed Al-Shabaab militants sneaked into Kenya, seizing a tiny village where they reportedly preached radicalism for half an hour, before vanishing into the dense Boni Forest within Lamu County.

The incident happened in Mangai village just within Boni Forest where the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) are undertaking Operation Amani Boni. During the tense 30 minutes, the militants donated date fruits to locals.

The incident happened on Saturday evening around 6 pm when residents, most of whom are Muslims, were preparing for the evening prayers and breaking the fast. An area administrator informed the Mangai Security camp about the incident.

“Around 6 pm, and as the locals were preparing for evening prayers, Al-Shaabab operatives numbering about 150 raided Mangai village, approximately 80 kilometres South West of the station, where they probed the Border Patrol Unit (BPU) Mangai camp before splitting into two groups.

"One of the groups was left manning the BPU camp as the other one entered the village where they looked for the area chiefs and National Police Reservists (NPR) officers from the said locality. They later lectured the locals before distributing date fruits to them and later left for an unknown destination. No casualties were reported during the incident. The area remains tense. Any further progress report to be communicated,” the report stated.

Wesley Koech, the Lamu County Commissioner, confirmed the incident while informing the public that security had been beefed up in the area.

Koech called on locals to share information with the police, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and other security agencies so as to help conquer the enemy. He also called on the public not to be deterred as the situation is being monitored and managed.

“First, there is no death or injury reported in the Saturday evening raid by suspected Al-Shabaab terrorists in Mangai Village. They only ambushed locals, preached to them and distributed dates to them and left. We’re monitoring the situation and everything is under control. There is no cause for worry,” said the county commissioner by phone.

There has been relative stability along the Lamu stretch due to the active KDF operations but previously, the group has launched devastating attacks — including the Mpeketoni raid of 2014 which left over 90 people dead.

There have been recent in the villages of Juhudi, Widho, Salama, Mashogoni, Marafa, Pandanguo, Witu and surrounding areas between 2023 and early 2024 where 30 residents were killed. The national government has been keen on fighting the insecurity menace caused by the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab insurgents.

In September 2015, the state launched a multi-agency security operation dubbed Linda Boni, with the key aim of flushing out Al-Shabaab militants believed to be hiding inside the vast Boni Forest. The operation has been termed as a 'success' by military officials.

GAROWE ONLINE