Gunmen kill two Kenyans along border with Somalia

Xinhua
Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Gunmen on Monday killed two Kenyans who were ferrying miraa along a busy road near the border with Somalia.

Local government officials said that suspected Al-Shabaab militia attacked two Landcruisers which were ferrying cargo to the border town of Liboi, a few kilometers from Damajaley village, which was just attacked by the same militia two weeks ago with killing of five people.

"These militia who had strategically located themselves around the bush opened fire at the vehicles, killing two people instantly and seriously injuring another. We are seriously pursuing them," Dadaab District Commissioner Albert Kimathi told Xinhua by telephone.

Kimathi said that the vehicles were ambushed by the militants at noon.

He said the militia, who took control of the vehicles, later abandoned them a few kilometers away but escaped with the miraa worth millions of shillings.

There have been reported cases of carjacking and killings along busy road with motorists and pedestrians being assaulted and robbed by the militiamen-turned-highway robbers.

Dadaab lawmaker Dr. Mohamed Dahire said it was unfortunate that lives continued to be lost along the way as due to the government's slow response to the emergency situations.

The incident comes just two weeks after two other miraa ferrying vehicles was hijacked by suspected militia along at Arabia trading centre along the Lafey-Mandera highway.

The restive region of northern Kenya has bore the brunt of insecurity since Kenya took its troops to Somalia to fight the Al- Shabaab group.

The trend of the attacks particularly in northern Kenya which seemingly are well coordinated since few suspects have been arrested has heightened worries among Kenyans.

At least 30 security officers have been killed and several attacks occurred in Nairobi, Mombasa, Mandera, Garissa and Wajir counties.

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