Thursday, May 03, 2012
Police in Lamu have arrested two foreigners suspected to be members of the Al-Shabaab terror group.
Lamu East police boss Samuel Obara on Wednesday said the Tunisian born men were Belgian and German citizens.
He said the suspects were arrested on Tuesday night at Basuba in Kiunga, about 20 kilometres from the Kenya-Somalia border.
“We arrested the two shortly after they entered the country from Somalia,” said Mr Obara.
The German, Mr Derbati Mohammed and the Belgian, Mr Kafi Hassan, were on Wednesday moved from Kiunga police station under tight security to Mombasa.
Sources close to the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit said the two denied having been in Somalia to fight for Al-Shabaab.
The arrests come a week after four Kenyan businessmen suspected to be Al-Shabaab members were arrested in Lamu and Mpeketoni.
The four, Mr Faiz Mansur Awadh and his son Mohamed Faiz, Mr Nelson Mwangi and Mr Abdul Fatah, were released without charge after four days of interrogation.
The border town of Kiunga is a popular route with foreigners crossing into Somalia to join Al-Shabaab.
Last year, three British youths were arrested in Kiunga as they prepared to cross into the lawless country. They were later deported.