Gunmen suspected to be members of Al-Shabaab burnt down dozens of houses in an attack on the night of Wednesday, February 12, 2020.
The attack happened in Garissa County, as informed by Garissa communications director Mohamed Ibrahim who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke. Ijara Town Member of Parliament Sophia Abdi Noor also confirmed the incident.
Al-Shabaab burnt down several houses and shops in Gedilun, located within Sangailu in Garissa County. Initially, two men- a father and a son- were abducted and used to navigate to police reservists' residences. The father was later released but his son is still missing.
North Eastern Regional Co-ordinator Nicodemus Ndalana told Nation that though security personnel was dispatched, the locals were unwilling to help identify the route the attackers used to access the town, a challenge that was also noted by area MP Sofia Abdi Noor.
“They were blaming us, saying we allowed our sons to join the KDF army,” the legislator lamented.
“The father is still in shock, he cannot even utter a word from his mouth. He was beaten before being released,” she added.
The local leaders resolved to educated the residents on the importance of cooperating with security agencies to flush out Al-Shabaab elements and sympathisers.
Mr. Ndalana meanwhile sent a warning to the local Shabaab sympathisers that their days are numbered.
"Like yesterday our officers were waiting for them but it appears some locals might have tipped them off about our plans," he said.
He added that the war against the Al-Shabaab was getting more complicated as the group was exercising more advanced tactics.
The Al-Shabaab have been involved in a series of attacks that have occurred at the start of 2020.
On Sunday, January 5, the Somali-based extremist group stormed the Kenya Navy camp in Manda Bay, which is also home to US marines. They targeted and destroyed 2 fixed-wing aircrafts, a US Cessna and a Kenyan one as well as two US helicopters and multiple US vehicles.
