Kenya Delays Reopening Somalia Border Following Deadly Attacks

The Kenyan government announced on Wednesday the postponement of its plan to reopen its long-closed border with Somalia due to a series of deadly attacks, attributed to the armed Islamist group, al-Shabab. Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki stated that the staged reopening of border posts in Mandera, Lamu, and Garissa along the expansive Somali frontier, initially announced in May, will be put on hold.

The decision follows the murder of five civilians and the death of eight police officers in separate incidents near the border last month, suspected to be the work of al-Shabab. “The government will delay the planned reopening of Kenya-Somalia border points until we conclusively deal with the recent spate of terror attacks and cross-border crime,” Kindiki announced during a visit to the Dadaab refugee camp in far eastern Kenya near Somalia.

Kenya has suffered from retaliatory attacks by al-Shabab since deploying troops into Somalia in 2011 to combat the al-Qaida-linked jihadists. Kenya remains a significant contributor to an African Union force in Somalia aimed at mitigating al-Shabab’s ability to conduct deadly attacks.