A total of 2,650 people have been displaced or fled their homes around Boni Forest in Lamu County.
According to the Kenya Red Cross, Lamu Coordinator Abdulkadir Mohamed, residents in the area have fled their homes due to threats from Al Shabaab, with some claiming their livelihood in the forest had been put on hold.
Mohamed stated that most of the displaced persons were elderly, women and children from Basuba, Milimani, Mararani, Kiangwe and Mangai villages.
Officials from the Red Cross also confirmed that the locals had relocated to relatives' homes and displacement camps around Bodhai and Baragoni mosques in northern Lamu.
This was noted after a military offensive dubbed Operation Linda Boni was launched last week by Kenya's Security Heads in a bid to drive out Al Shabaab militants that are believed to have set up camp in the forest.
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Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett declared Boni Forest a hostile territory as the security operation targeted 13 villages in Lamu and Garissa.
The IG urged residents living around the forest to surrender their legal and illegal fire arms and vacate the forest as the security operation began.
The northern parts of Lamu and Southern region of Garissa County have now been declared security zones, as Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and officers from the General Service Unit (GSU) advance the operation that would free Boni Forest of militia men.
