Suspected Al-Shabaab militants raid, vandalise Lamu club
The section of Arseli pub in Mswakini, Lamu County, which was vandalised by suspected Al-Shabaab militants.
Suspected Al-Shabaab militants have destroyed a section of a local pub in Mswakini Village, near Bar’goni in Lamu County.
The attackers are said to have planted a landmine which exploded, destroying a section of Arseli pub.
The militants also left behind several leaflets with radical messages telling Bar’goni and Lamu residents that they were members of Al-Shabaab and that they needed cooperation to enable them to clean Muslim towns from evils, including drinking, prostitution and other vices.
Mswakini and Bar’goni areas are within Boni Forest where a multi-agency security Operation Amani Boni is ongoing.
The operation, whose objective is to flush out Al-Shabaab militants believed to be hiding in the forest, was launched in September 2015.
Lamu County Commissioner, Irungu Macharia, who confirmed the incident on Sunday, said no casualties were reported during the Saturday night raid.
He asked members of the public to stay calm and assured them that the situation was under control.
“The situation is under control, we are investigating the incident perpetrated by criminals. We have beefed up security in the whole county. Wananchi are requested to report any suspected characters in their neighbourhoods,” said Mr Macharia.
Bar’goni and Mswakini residents on Sunday told Nation.Africa that they heard a huge explosion at around 11.20 pm.
“We heard a huge bang coming from Mswakini area which is about 500 metres from our village. I knew things were not okay. This morning, we established that the Arseli Pub had been bombed. The criminals left leaflets saying that they were out to fight vices in society, including alcoholism and prostitution,” said Mr Diza Doza, an elder in Bar’goni.
Mr Khamis Omar, a resident of Mswakini appealed to the government to beef up security in the area since locals were worried about their security.
“We feel unsafe. We don’t know what their next move is. Let the government assure us of our safety,” said Mr Omar.
The incident comes four days after the Lamu security department announced it had beefed up security across the county after leaflets warning of an imminent Al-Shabaab attack were circulated in the county.
The leaflets, written in Kiwahili had warned of terror attacks in Mokowe, Hindi, and Mpeketoni.
Lamu has been a key target for terrorists, leading to the launch of the multi-agency Operation Amani Boni eight years ago.
The number of terror attacks has reduced in the country since the operation started.
