Wajir cops kill ‘Shabaab militant’ as 3 others flee

Friday June 29, 2018

Police in Wajir yesterday killed a suspected al Shabaab militant between Mansa and Boji Qaraas and recovered loaded rifles as the crackdown on the terror group intensified.

County commissioner Lyford Kibaara said one was seriously injured but was carried away by his two colleagues. He said police overpowered them with gunfire.

He warned residents against supplying food to suspects. Anyone found will be treated as one of them, he said.

Officers had yet to identify the man. They said he was one of those who killed eight police in Boji Garass, Tarbaj subcounty and fled with their firearms.

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Several people have been arrested in connection to the killings.

The body of the slain Shabaab was taken to the Wajir county mortuary. Nobody claimed it.

Police said they would take his fingerprints to help in investigations.
Northeastern regional coordinator Mohamud Saleh said the government is determined to restore order in the region’s troubled areas. He dismissed claims they are out on a witch-hunt.

On Monday, local leaders accused the government of police brutality “in the pretext of fighting terror”.

Senator Abdullahi Ali Wajir East MP Rashid Kassim and Woman Representative Fatuma Gedi said it was wrong for the police to round up people, beat them and burn their houses and shops.

But Saleh said the “targeted operation” is meant to arrest suspects. He urged residents to weed them out and report to the authorities.

“It’s the responsibility of the government to safeguard the lives and property of its citizens. We’ll not sit down as a few individuals kill people, including police, by staging attacks,” he said.

Saleh said most of the attacks are planned, financed and carried out by natives.

Kibaara said the operation will continue. “We’ll not leave the area until we get all militants and their accomplices,” he said.

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