Tuesday, January 22, 2013
GARISSA, Kenya, Jan. 22 — Kenya’s authorities on Tuesday launched a major manhunt for five Al-Shabaab terror suspects who sneaked into the east African nation to plan terrorism attacks in the country.
Garissa County Commissioner Maalim Mohamed said the government will publish the names and portraits of the suspected militants who are believed to behind the killings of innocent civilians and security agents in Garissa town in northern Kenya.
“These people do not live in the sky, they just live amongst us, and their days are numbered, we urge you to give us information immediately you identify them from the adverts we will put in the media,” Mohamed told journalists in Garissa.
The government officials also appealed to Kenyans to help the anti-terrorism police officers to arrest the five terror suspects whose pictures will be circulated soon.
Mohamed said that the criminal investigation department in the area had identified the criminals behind the attacks.
A string of grenade attacks in Nairobi, Mombasa and northern Kenyan town of Garissa recently have sent Kenyans living in other cities and towns in the East African nation, specifically Nakuru, Kisumu and Eldoret, into panic as they fear terrorists may strike in their towns.
Mohamed took issue with the recent demonstrations in Garissa town by residents who complained of discriminate killings by the militants adding that it was high time that area residents co- existed peacefully with other ethnic groups.
Maalim further disclosed that the government will deploy Kenya Police Reservists (KPR) and arm them with G-3 and AK 47 riffles in a bid to compliment area security agents in restoring peace.
He said the KPR officers will be deployed in all the seven locations of Garissa district and will work in collaboration with regular and administration police.
Garissa District Peace Security Committee Secretary Hassan Shurie challenged the government to seal the gap that he said existed between the area residents and security agents.
Shurie noted that at many times the killings happened without the prior knowledge of the intelligence officers.
In many killings that have been executed even in the town center no arrest has been made despite the killers walking to safe havens.
Kenyan security personnel patrolling the Somalia border have been hit with a series of explosion attacks since Kenya sent its troops to fight Al-Shabaab inside Somalia, often killing or injuring officers.
Security forces at the border points are grappling with threats posed by the insurgents who have been also been laying landmines mainly targeting police and soldiers patrolling the Somalia border.
Since the Kenya military incursion into Somalia several attacks believed to have been carried out by Al-Shabaab have occurred in Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa and Dadaab districts of northern Kenya even as the military reports gains against the militant group by capturing their military bases and killing scores of them.