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‘Al-Shabaab’ suspects attack police post North of Mandera

July 1, 2012 - Written by maamule - Edited bymaamule

Suspected Al-Shabaab militia attacked a Kenyan police post, about 80 km from northern town of Mandera along the common border on Friday night, officials said on Saturday.

Regional deputy police commander, Phillip Ndolo who confirmed the incident on Saturday said a group of about 35 gunmen attack Arabia Administration Police Post at around 22:00 local time, sparking a fierce exchange of fire between the police and the militia.

“However our security forces managed to repulse them back to Somalia.

“There were no casualties,” Ndolo told Xinhua.

The incident came hours after suspected Somalia insurgents killed a Kenyan driver and abducted 4 aid workers from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) who were on a field visit at the Ifo 2 refugee within the Dadaab complex.

Security forces have launched a major manhunt for Al-Shabaab militants who ambushed the convoy of aid workers that had senior officials from the NRC.

The police have since recovered the vehicle which the aid workers were using when they were ambushed and Ndolo said they believe the kidnappers are still holed up in Kenya.

He said they were not sure whether the insurgents were targeting the police post but to steal from the only big shop in the region since most of them were hungry due to a major onslaught launched by Kenyan soldiers in southern Somalia.

Ndolo said the police are pursuing the attackers whom they believe fled towards the Somalia border with the goods stolen from the shop

“We don’t think the militia was targeting the AP Post.

“We believe their interest was to steal from the only big shop in the town (Arabia) and go with the goods which they did.

“Our officers are however pursuing them,” Ndolo said.

The East African nation has blamed members of Al-Shabaab for a series of abductions of foreigners including grenade and landmine attacks on its territory especially in Dadaab refugee complex which hosts more than 500,000 mainly Somalis refugees.

The authorities have citied abductions as a reason for launching cross border incursion into Somalia in mid October 2011 to fight the militia.

They have however denied abducting people in Kenya.

Al-Shabaab abducted two Spanish women, Montserrat Serra, 40, from Girona (Palafrugell) and Blanca Thiebaut, 30, from Madrid, both working as logisticians for international medical charity, MSF, and took them across the border into Somalia in October 2011.

The abduction was the third incident of foreigners being abducted in the East African nation which neighbors the lawless Horn of Africa nation in just over a month.

Aid workers said there has been a positive response from the international community and aid organisations since July 2011 as they increased their assistance to the people living in the camps and provided further assistance to refugees living on the camps’ outskirts.

However, aid agencies working in northern Kenya and in Somalia said the latest attack may again jeopardize the assistance to thousands of people in urgent need of humanitarian aid and that a quick and satisfactory solution is necessary.

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