Tuesday 18,March 2025 {HMC} More than 100 suspected al-Shabab militants briefly took over a remote village in Kenya’s Lamu County, gathering residents, delivering a sermon, and distributing food before disappearing into the dense Boni Forest, security officials said Sunday.
The incursion, which occurred Saturday evening in Mangai village, prompted Kenyan security forces to launch an immediate operation in the area. Lamu County Commissioner Wesley Koech confirmed the infiltration, urging locals to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity.
“The good news is that no casualties were reported,” Koech told local media. “But security forces are closely monitoring the situation.”
Following the incident, additional security personnel were deployed Sunday morning to Mangai and surrounding villages. Kenyan forces had already been on heightened alert since the start of Ramadan, a period when al-Shabab has historically escalated its activities in the region.
According to residents, about 10 armed militants carrying AK-47 rifles entered the village around iftar, the evening meal that breaks the daily fast, and gathered local Muslim residents for a sermon on Islam.
Mangai is located within Boni Forest, a vast and densely wooded area along the Kenya-Somalia border. The forest has long been a hideout for al-Shabab fighters, who use the cover of thick vegetation to launch cross-border attacks and evade security forces.
Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked extremist group based in Somalia, has carried out multiple attacks in Kenya since 2011, targeting civilians, security personnel, and government installations. Authorities believe the militants maintain training camps and supply routes deep within Boni Forest.
Kenyan security forces have been conducting counterterrorism operations in the forest since 2015, but the group continues to exploit the porous border to stage attacks.
Saturday’s incident is the latest in a series of al-Shabab incursions in Lamu County. In May 2023, Kenyan forces killed several militants in Kumba, Lamu, after they attempted an ambush. Security forces later seized weapons and supplies the group had abandoned.
Kenya remains a key participant in regional counterterrorism efforts, with its forces stationed in Somalia as part of the African Union peacekeeping mission (ATMIS), supporting the Somali government’s battle against al-Shabab.
Despite ongoing military pressure, the militant group continues to exploit Kenya’s remote border regions, seeking to expand its influence and recruit local fighters.
SOURCE BBC
