Mandera County Governor Ali Roba has said the town of Mandera in Kenya is on the verge falling into the hands of Al-Shabaab. In an interview with The Standard in Nairobi, the governor said al-Shabaab had taken control of 50% of north-eastern Kenya and had taken control of strategic areas in the region. He called for a change in the treatment of al-Shabaab and the ongoing war, otherwise it could pose a serious threat to the powerful group inside Kenya.
”We need to change the way we deal with this situation, otherwise, we will soon be under the control of terrorists. Al-Shabaab has already controlled more than 60% of Mandera.”
”My fellow Kenyans, I have been forced to speak openly about the insecurity in North Eastern Kenya, and especially in the Mandera District,” Robo said. The governor also noted that the Al-Shabaab group is conducting fearless military operations in Mandera, noting that it has now reached an unprecedented level.
”There is a serious security crisis in the Mandera County, which has been fueled by fearless terrorist activities in the region. The situation has been deteriorating for the past three months but now it has reached unprecedented levels,” he said.
Ali Roba pointed out that al-Shabaab is collecting zakat from pastoralists in Mandera and surrounding areas. He noted that al-Shabaab had attacked police stations and telecommunications companies in the North Eastern region, and that all educational institutions in the region were on the verge of closing as teachers fled the region due to insecurity.