Security officials have launched a manhunt for about 150 Al Shabaab operatives who raided Mangai, Lamu East Sub-County, catching security agencies by surprise.
The terrorists, dressed in military combat gear and armed with AK-47 rifles, commandeered the whole village to listen to jihadist lectures.
Multiple interviews indicate that three militants arrived in the sleepy village two days earlier pretending to be philanthropists donating dates to Muslims during this period of Ramadhan.
“It appears it was a special team for reconnaissance before the over 150 militants swamped the area,” said a police source.
Yesterday, the villagers were still reeling from the Saturday invasion that has rekindled the sad memories of the deadly 2014 attacks in Mpeketoni, Lamu.
And yesterday, the US pronounced parts of eastern, coastal and northern Kenya as volatile and issued a travel advisory to its citizens.
The alert highlighted crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping as vices that makes the areas unsafe.
Lamu County Commissioner Wesley Koech said the police could not engage the militants to avoid casualties. He said the security team is on high alert.
He said the group was well organised; some were left manning the Border Patrol Unit, and the other group went to the village where they engaged the locals before giving them the dates.
“On the fateful day, the security agents couldn’t engage the militants since they were in the village with locals to avoid casualties.”
A local administrator, whose identity remains anonymous for security reasons, said the militants were covered with masks to hide their identity and were speaking Arabic and Somali.
He said they raided Mangai and took locals who were preparing to break their fast hostage for several hours.
However, most of the villagers are still too scared to speak about the incident.
The about 200 people of Mangai, one of the villages in Boni Forest, are generally cut off from the rest of Lamu. Most of them have no identity cards and improvised explosive devices are common in the area.
The communities moved from Somalia during the Shifta war.
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“The villagers ate the dates and are seeking more dates from the militia. They are hunters and gatherers and cannot move without a permit, which takes long,” said the administrator.
He said the militants are likely to proceed to Milimani and Mararani villages, which are along the route they might have come from.
The militants ransacked the village, searching for National Police Reservists and other government administrators.
According to one resident who we cannot reveal for their safety, the viallgers were ready for prayers when the militants struck, gathered them at a central point and were forced to sit on the sand while surrounded by the armed militia.
She said they were lectured in Somali and Arabic languages before they were given date fruits.
“We are in fear since we don’t know when next they will come. These people are ruthless; lately they are fighting everyone regardless of whether one is a Muslim or not. All that we want is peace,” she said.
She said even though some people may want to leave the area, their movement is restricted because explosives that may be planted along the Hindi-Mangai Road.
“We want to go to safer places, but we cannot use the road due to its condition. We are stranded here.”
A village elder wondered how the militants gathered the courage to raid a village that has a police unit nearby, urging the government to be alert.
“Saturday’s ambush was scary. We cannot stay in peace not knowing when next the militants can come. Let the security apparatus be alert to avert such,” he said.
The government has urged members of the public to report any suspicious person and provide information regarding their operations.
“We have to thwart planned attacks. The county is known for insecurity, a theory we have to change,” said the county commissioner.
According to the US advisory, American citizens should not travel to the Kenya-Somalia border counties of Garissa, Wajir, Mandera and Tana River and north of Malindi due to terrorism and kidnapping.
West Pokot and western Turkana County were also highlighted as unsafe, citing banditry.
Parts of Marsabit and Turkana counties within 30 miles of the Ethiopian border were marked insecure due to cross-border incursions.
In Nairobi, neighbourhoods of Eastleigh and Kibera were mapped as hotspots for crime and kidnapping.
“Violent crime, such as armed carjacking, mugging, home invasion, and kidnapping, can occur at any time. Local police often lack the capability to respond effectively to serious crimes and terrorist attacks. Emergency medical and fire services are limited. Avoid travelling after dark in Kenya due to crime and poor traffic safety,” read the advisory.
The US embassy also cautioned its citizenry against criminals on boda boda.
