LAMU, Kenya, Jan 7- Tension is high in parts of Lamu after four police officers were killed in an ambush attack on Friday, amidst growing insecurity in the coastal county.
The incident occurred in the Milihoi area in Lamu County.
According to security sources, the four were on board a police vehicle when they came under attack.
The assailants are said to be members of the Al-Shabaab terror group or their sympathizers.
Several other officers are said to have sustained gunshot injuries during the attack.
“The attack happened between Mkunumbi and Hindi area,” area police boss Irungu Macharia told Shahidi News. “It happened at about 9 am.”
Several attackers also escaped with injuries.
“The officers also fought back, injuring several attackers,” a highly placed security officer, aware of the incident, told Shahidi News.
The gang, police said, attacked the police Landcruiser using an explosive.
The area has over the years been prone to attacks, some of which have led to the killing of senior government officials.
For example, in July 2017, Principal Secretary, the late Mariam Elmawy was shot and later abducted by suspected Al-Shabaab militants in the area.
Three other people who were in her company were killed during the attack.
A major hunt for the Friday attackers is ongoing, with security officers reporting seeing bloodstains in a nearby forest.
The attack occurred in one of the areas under dusk to dawn curfew.
the National Security Council held its first meeting of the year on Wednesday discussing primarily the state of security in the county.
Chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta, the council resolved to implement a raft of resolutions in a bid to restore security in the volatile areas including instituting a 30-day dusk to dawn curfew, effective Wednesday, January 5th, 2022.
In a statement from the Ministry of Interior, Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i declared four divisions in the county as disturbed areas.
“Incidents of criminal attacks that have led to the loss of seven innocent lives have been reported in Widho Sub-location, Majembeni Location of Lamu County. The attacks have also occasioned the destruction of private property and unsettled residents in the affected and surrounding areas,” CS Matiang’i said.
In accordance with Section 106 (1) of the National Police Service Act, 2011, the National Security Council declared: Lamu West Sub County and the affected include Mukunumbi Division, Majembeni location, Ndamwe Location, Mkunumbi Location while in Witu Division the affected places include Pandanguo Location, Binde Warinde location, Witu location and Hamasi Location as disturbed areas.
In Mpeketoni Division the affected areas include Bomani Location, Pongwe Location, Mpeketoni Location, Bahari Location and Mapenya Location
Others such as In Lamu Central’s, Hindi Division’s has also been incorporated in the affected areas.
“Residents in the Disturbed Areas are requested to cooperate with the Security agencies and to share information on suspicious persons and activities,” said Matiangi.
Seven people, all non-locals, have in recent days been brutally murdered within the County. Five suspects have since been arrested and arraigned over the attacks.
While preliminary investigations indicated the killings were over a land dispute, detectives are probing whether there is a link to the Al-Shabaab terror group.
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