By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Africanews
Published on 2024-01-19 15:39:36
A donkey cart carrying a suspected improvised bomb exploded at a checkpoint on the Kenya-Somalia border, resulting in the death of one Kenyan police officer and critical injuries to four others. According to a Kenyan police report, the cart, pulled by two donkeys and ridden by one man, passed the Somali checkpoint of Bula Hawa and entered Kenyan territory. It was stopped by officers for inspection, at which point the rider fled back into Somalia, and the cart exploded, causing a substantial fire at the border post in Mandera county.
The report also stated that the cart’s driver was apprehended by Somali police as he attempted to escape, and negotiations were underway between the Mandera county security team and the Bula Hawa police for his handover to Kenyan authorities. While no one claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicion immediately fell on al-Shabab, a Somalia-based extremist group associated with al-Qaida.
Al-Shabab has threatened retaliation against Kenya for deploying troops into Somalia in 2011 to combat the militants. The group had previously conducted a series of kidnappings of Westerners inside Kenya, posing a threat to the country’s tourism industry, which is a significant part of its economy. Kenyan forces joined the African Union peacekeeping mission aimed at supporting Somalia’s government against the al-Shabab insurgency. Last year, the AU mission began reducing its troop presence under a U.N. Security Council resolution to transition control back to the Somali government.
Recently, al-Shabab attacks in Kenya have primarily been in the form of roadside bombs targeting the military and police. Just days before the donkey cart explosion, five police officers were wounded when their truck was struck by a roadside bomb in Lafey, Mandera county. The repeated attacks by al-Shabab highlight the ongoing security challenges faced by both Kenya and Somalia in the region.
