US issues new warning to its citizens in Kenya

The US government has issued a new warning to its citizens to watch out for possible attacks by militant groups in Nairobi and elsewhere in Kenya.

Its embassy in Nairobi said that areas frequented by its citizens and other foreigners and tourists in the capital and other parts of the country are targets for terrorists planning to carry out attacks.

The statement on its website states that terrorist groups could attack hotels, embassies, restaurants, malls and markets, schools, police stations, places of worship, and other places frequented by foreigners and tourists with little or no warning.

The US said that the Kenyan government increased counterterrorism patrols to foil such attacks.

Since the DusitD 2 attack on January 15, 2019 there has been no major attack in Nairobi. 21 people dead and dozens more injured, according to the DusitD 2 complex attack on January 15, 2019.

In January 2020, Al Shabaab attacked the Manda Bay Airbase, a military facility in Lamu manned by Kenyan and American forces, which left three Americans, a soldier and two US Department of Defence DoD contractors dead. Two other US service members and a third DoD contractor were injured.

The US Embassy asked its citizens to vigilance at high profile locations, review their security plans and check the local media for updates.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki recently revealed that the government forces have disrupted many terror plots at source, neutralized or arrested dozens of suspected terrorists.

Prof Kindiki said he had been in office for 100 days and that huge amounts of weapons and explosives had been intercepted and destroyed.

The crack down on Al-Shabaab terror cells in Somalia spearheaded by local community leaders with the support of the Federal Government of Somalia has weakened this militant group, Prof Kindiki.

The government has increased border patrols and increased surveillance to thwart any attacks, according to the CS.

In the last 100 days, there have been nearly 6,000 police officers who have joined the National Police Service. The officers will be deployed to security hotspots across the country to further protect the security of our people and property, Prof Kindiki said.