Al-Shabaab militants once again struck and killed at least three people in a bus raid in Lamu.
Full details of the casualties are yet to come, but the attack sends the clearest signal that the militants are spoiling for more blood.
Fortunately, Kenya’s security teams responded fast enough to repulse the attackers and avert a worse bloodshed. This demonstrates that we have the capacity to neuter the thugs.
Just last week, al-Shabaab staged a major attack in Mogadishu, Somalia, and killed more than 80 people. Then, we cautioned that the gangs will be mounting raids here.
The latest attack in Kenya is part of their endless scheme to create instability in the region.
Past trends have shown that the militants hit most at the beginning or the end of year. Some of the recent raids have happened in such times.
Last year, the criminals attacked DusitD2 Hotel in Nairobi and killed more than 20 people.
In 2016, they invaded the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) camp in El-Ade in southern Somalia and killed dozens of soldiers.
Kenya continues to bear the brunt of al-Shabaab’s terror for the reason that it is among the key nations in the region supporting Amisom and fighting to end terrorism.
Since 1998, when terrorists attacked the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es salaam, the region has experienced cyclical violence, with many deaths.
Ending terror gangs, therefore, is an existential challenge and must be pursued to the logical end.
Whereas in the initial years the international community provided immense support in terms of resources and logistics, that has ebbed out in recent years.
Amisom is struggling because of reduced support from key supporters, leaving Kenya and a few regional countries to shoulder the burden of fighting the terrorists.
But there is no room for despair. Kenya has pledged that its troops will stay in Somalia as long as the war lasts. The war must be won.
But the security agencies must sustain that war locally. The attack-prone areas are now well-known.
The onus, therefore, is for the security teams to intensify surveillance and be ready to fight the gangs at all times.
In the meantime, the security teams at the Coast must pursue the raiders. Their hideouts are known and they must be hounded out.
Security escorts for public transporters has to be enhanced while the public should proffer any information when they suspect danger.
We have to keep alert in the knowledge that the terror gangs are lurking around, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
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