Al-Shabab Activities Resurge along Kenyan Corridor Construction

On January 27, 2023, regional commissioner John Otieno of northeastern Kenya alerted authorities of a resurgence of Al-Shabab activities along an important highway construction project that would link Kenyan port of Lamu to South Sudan and Ethiopia, collectively known as LAPSSET.

Since December 8, at least seven attacks on workers and facilities of the LAPSSET corridor project, resulting in 14 deaths, had occurred all within tens of kilometers of the Kenyan-Somali border.

Otieno assured the government would not allow Al-Shabab terrorists to interfere with construction and his security forces would soon intervene to put an end to the activities.

Al-Shabab is a terrorist network affiliated with Al-Qaeda since 2012 and have notoriously carried out numerous attacks in Kenya and Somalia. The most fatal Al Shabab attack in Kenya occurred in April 2015 at Garissa University that led to 148 casualties.

Since 1991, Somalia has been in a state of civil war due to the absence of a governing body. Agencies such as African Union (AU) forces and the Somali Army are at the frontline trying to contain the fundamentalists.

The Kenyan government has expressed its stance clearly and reassured the public of its commitment to put an end to Al-Shabab activities.