The United States Government has donated 12 Bastion Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to help improve border surveillance.
The war vehicles were delivered on Tuesday by US Defense Attaché and Senior Defense Official Colonel Kevin Balisky as announced by the US Embassy, Nairobi.
“These vehicles represent the unwavering US commitment to Kenya and our shared national security interests. As the KDF continues to conduct daily operations against violent extremism, these vehicles will enhance the mobility and force protection of their troops in harm’s way,” stated Colonel Balisky.
He added that the US was proud to be friends and partners with the KDF as they secure and develop peace in the border region.
The explosives-resistant APCs will support KDF’s efforts in the fight against extremists, including the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) by Al Shabaab along the border region.
The vehicle is provided with smoke grenade launchers and up to nine gun ports for firing rifles.
As part of efforts to tame the terror incidents, the Administration Police’s border patrol unit has now started to take over the border posts from other agencies as specified in the new police structure.
More than 100 security personnel have been killed in the incidents in the past year alone on the border stretching from Lamu to Mandera.
On Sunday night, border patrol officers thwarted an ambush by Al Shabaab militants at their camp in Ijara Garissa county.
The militants, whose exact number remains unknown, struck the Rural Border Patrol Unit shortly after 11:00 pm and started shooting indiscriminately.
