Saturday, December 24, 2016
By STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Northeastern regional coordinator Mohamud Saleh (R) addresses the press at a Garissa town hotel on August 28. He is with Garissa Senator Yussuf Haji, his Wajir counterpart Abdirahman Hassan and Lagdera MP Mohamed Shidiye / STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Garissa county commissioner James Kianda has urged residents to be vigilant during the holidays.
Addressing the press in his office yesterday, Kianda said although the government has put up extra measures to protect citizens, it is also their duty be wary of surroundings and report any suspicious characters.
“We should avoid crowded areas because these are soft targets for terrorists,” he said. The soft target areas include beaches, restaurants and places of worship. Kianda, however, said the public should go about their normal duties.
Speaking separately, Northeastern regional regional coordinator Mohamud Saleh said surveillance at the Kenya-Somalia border has been tightened.
Saleh said additional security officers have been deployed to guard communication masts because the terrorists want to cripple communication at the border so they cannot be tracked.
“These are desperate unorthodox tacts by al Shabaab to cut communication. It won’t last long,” he said.
Suspected al Shabaab gunmen launched a hand grenade and destroyed an Orange telecommunication mast in Kutulo, Mandera county, on the night of December 12. They were targeting two adjacent masts belonging to Safaricom and Orange telecommunication companies. County commissioner Fredrick Shisia said four al Shabaab gunmen fled into Somalia.