Al Shabaab activities in North Eastern on decline – Report
By Nyaboga KiageThere has been a decline in the activities of members of the terrorist group Al Shabaab.
The decline has been seen in the vast northeastern region, where members of the militant group used to carry out a series of attacks on non-locals and the police.
Horizon Analysts and Researchers Network (HARN), an organization that conducts research in the northeastern region, has linked the decline in such attacks to cooperation between security forces and local communities.
The North Eastern region consists of Lamu, Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa counties.
“From September last year to August 2024, there has been a significant improvement in the deterrence, interception, and disruption of potential terrorist attacks as part of the fight against extremism and insurgency activities along the areas bordering Somalia compared to the same period last year,” the organization said in a statement.
HARN said there had been a 60 percent reduction in attacks in the four countries. This, the organization said, had been made possible by a newfound camaraderie between locals and security agencies.
It also said that propaganda material, which is also shared to recruit young people into the militia group, has also decreased on both online and offline platforms.
Even in Somalia, HARN said there had been a serious operation carried out by officers attached to the Somali National Army (SNA) targeting terrorists and terror-related activities.
According to the organization, the security services have been receiving timely information that is helping to counter the activities of the extremist group. These activities include disrupting planned attacks, countering insurgent propaganda, and pre-empting their new recruitment tactics.
Kenya, especially the vast northeastern region and Wajir County in particular, has been a playground for the militants.
However, things seem to have changed with almost weekly reports of attacks.
The Al Shabaab attacks are not only synonymous with the Eastern region as the terror group has also caused havoc in other parts of the country including the capital Nairobi. At least 67 people died in the assault by al-Shabab in 2013 on the Westgate shopping complex in the capital. Four militants who carried out the attack were found dead in the shopping center’s rubble. The militants occupied the mall for four days, in one of the deadliest jihadi attacks in Kenya.
In September 2020, a judge sentenced two men Hussein Hassan Mustafa and Mohammed Ahmed Abdi to 18 and 33 years in jail after they were found guilty of helping the Islamist militants attack the Westgate mall.