Africa (Commonwealth Union) _ Kenya has announced the postponement of the reopening of its border with Somalia due to recent attacks carried out by the Al-Shabaab extremist group. The Interior Minister, Kithure Kindiki, stated that the planned phased reopening of the Mandera, Lamu, and Garissa border posts, which was initially announced in May, cannot proceed as scheduled.
The decision comes in response to several incidents near the border last month, in which five civilians and eight police officers were killed. These attacks were attributed to Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist organization. The Kenyan government intends to address the recent wave of terrorist attacks and cross-border crimes before reopening the border.
The official closure of the border between Kenya and Somalia took place in October 2011 due to ongoing attacks by Al-Shabaab, who have been engaged in an insurgency against the Somali federal government in Mogadishu for over 15 years.
Although both countries had expressed their intention to reopen the border during talks between Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in July 2022, the reopening did not materialize. However, a high-level ministerial meeting in Nairobi on May 15 resulted in an agreement to gradually reopen three border crossings.
Initially, Mandera was expected to reopen within 30 days of the announcement, followed by Garissa within 60 days, and Lamu within 90 days. However, on June 13, eight Kenyan police officers were killed in Garissa when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. Additionally, on June 24, five civilians were brutally attacked and killed in Lamu near the Somali border, with Al-Shabaab claiming responsibility for the incident.
Al-Shabaab continues to fight against Somalia’s federal government, with the aim of establishing Islamic law in the country. Kenya, which intervened militarily in southern Somalia in 2011 and has participated in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) since 2012 to combat the insurgency, has also been targeted by Al-Shabaab. The extremist group has been known to recruit local youth in the region.
