2 injured in suspected Al-Shabaab bus attack
Wajir County Police Commander Thomas Ngeywa said an unknown number of assailants attacked the bus heading to Wajir town at about 6.30am on January 24, 2020. ILLUSTRATION| GOOGLE MAPS
What you need to know:
- County Police Commander Thomas Ngeywa said an unknown number of assailants attacked the bus heading to Wajir town at about 6.30am.
- The driver managed to drive on for about a kilometre as the attackers damaged one of the vehicle's front tyres when they fired.
- The attack came hours after Wajir's elders, religious leaders, administrators, security agencies and representatives from all the six sub-counties met and called for deployment of more intelligence officers to the county.
- The leaders, representing both the national and county governments, called for better intelligence gathering, a stronger Nyumba Kumi initiative and registration of illegal firearms in the hands of pastoralists.
Two people were injured when suspected Al-Shabaab militants ambushed a passenger bus at Khorof Kharar in Wajir County early Friday morning.
County Police Commander Thomas Ngeywa said an unknown number of assailants attacked the bus heading to Wajir town at about 6.30am.
Mr Ngeywa said the attackers fled into the bush as the bus driver did not stop.
He managed to drive on for about a kilometre after the attackers damaged one of the vehicle's front tyres when they fired.
Mr Ngeywa said passengers got out of the bus and fled when the driver stopped.
"For now, we can't give the total number of passengers who were on the bus at the time of the attack but we are gathering information," he said.
SECURITY MEETING
The attack came hours after Wajir's elders, religious leaders, administrators, security agencies and representatives from all the six sub-counties met to discuss security.
They called for deployment of more intelligence officers to the county, noting that this will improve intelligence gathering, which is crucial in the fight against violent extremism.
The leaders, representing both the national and county governments, also resolved to strengthen the Nyumba Kumi initiative and register illegal firearms in the hands of pastoralists.
The meeting, chaired by County Commissioner Jacob Narengo and co-chaired by Wajir Governor Mohamed Abdi, came in the wake of increased terrorist attacks in the northern region.
A similar meeting took place in Mandera and Garissa counties.
PAST ATTACKS
Counties near the border with Somalia have borne the brunt of attacks by the Al-Qaeda-linked terror group as it is based in that country.
Last December, 11 people, eight of them Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) officers stationed at Elram in Mandera, were killed after Al-Shabaab terrorists attacked a bus.
The other victims were a teacher, a doctor and a civilian.
Early in January, three people were killed and three seriously injured when militants ambushed a passenger bus at Nyongoro in Lamu.
Recently, three teachers were killed when the terrorists raided Kamuthe Primary School in Wajir.
The frequent attacks are a threat to education, health and transport as employees have fled their work stations and members of the public have shunned travel by road.
