NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 27- A few days after Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiangi led a team of officials to review the status of the country’s security, foreign embassies from Europe have issued a terror alert.
Matiangi said the threat of terror was still real and urged Kenyans to stay vigilant.
In the several alerts seen by Shahidi News, the Embassies have asked their nationals living in Kenya to avoid certain public places, saying they are prone to terror-related attacks.
While there was no public alert issued by the National Police Service headquarters, Shahidi News has established that already more officers have been deployed in prone areas.
“There is an increase in uniformed and undercover officers in public spaces and more, in areas prone to security threats,” a senior officer at the police headquarters said.
“Unknown to the public, we have been thwarting many more other attacks through intelligence-led operations.”
National Intelligence Service is said to be working closely with NPS, “to sieve through information and determine the extent of the threat posed by the terrorist in Kenya.”
Multiple reports by NIS have been handed over to police bosses for action.
Of the Embassies that have issued alerts to their nationals living in Kenya is the French Embassy.
According to their security alert, terrorists were targeting areas most frequented by foreigners like shopping malls within Nairobi.
“People in Kenya are advised to exercise extreme vigilance and avoid frequenting these public places in the coming days, including this weekend,” the alert reads.
Shahidi News has established that Dutch and German embassies also issued similar advisories.
The United Kingdom cautioned against non-essential movements in various parts of the country.
Areas the UK has pointed out include areas within 60km of the Kenya-Somali border and parts of Garissa County.
Also on their list is Mandera County (Excluding Mandera West Sub County), Lamu County (Excluding Lamu Island and Manda Island), areas of Tana River County North of the River Tana (up to 20km northwest of the A3) and within 15km of the Coast from the Tana River down to the Galana (Athi-Galana-Sabaki) river.
Parts of Lamu are under a dusk to dawn curfew after a series of terror-related attacks, that have left more than 15 people killed.
The recent attack affected Judicial officers, still in Lamu. No one was killed during Wednesday’s evening attack.
The judicial officers had gone to Kipini mobile court and were on their way to Garsen town when they were attacked.
“I am informed that the injured judicial officers are in stable condition and are being given the utmost medical care. I have instructed the judiciary police unit to ensure that the officers are immediately evacuated to Nairobi for specialized treatment,” Chief Justice Marth Koome said on Thursday, in a statement.
She asked the head of the Judiciary Police Unit to review the security status of all judges, judicial officers, and staff across the country especially in areas that face severe security threats, and take necessary measures to enhance their safety.
A team of elite officers including the Anti-Terror Police Unit and the General Service Unit Recce squad are said to be strategically placed, in case of duty calls. The Emergency Response Team, consisting of elite officers, has also been placed on standby.
“We have a team ready to respond to any incident at any time,” a senior detective based at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations told Shahidi News.
“We have learnt from the past experiences and through our continued training.”
The last major attack in Nairobi was on January 15, 2019, when the DusitD2 complex was attacked by Al-Shabaab terrorists.
Five attackers including a suicide bomber were involved.
The attack claimed 20 people, among them British and American citizens. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility, saying it was because of the continued deployment of Kenyan troops to Somalia.
More than 20 people sustained gunshot injuries during the attack.
In September 2013, the terror group was involved in another attack targeting Westgate shopping mall.
The attack that involved four attackers left 67 people dead, in a siege that lasted for four days.
Two years later, the militants targeted Garissa University and killed 148 people, mostly young innocent students who were caught in their sleep. Some 79 students sustained gunshot injuries.
The Al-Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility.
Over the years, Kenya has heightened vigilance and adopted stringent security measures to curb further attacks.
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