Terrorism delays opening of Kenya–Somalia border

By Nathan Morley

Kenya will delay re-opening its border with Somalia because of a wave of attacks it blames on al Qaeda-linked militants.

In May, the two governments arranged to reopen parts of the frontier within 90 days. .

Several crossings have been closed since 2011 when Kenya deployed its forces into southern Somalia to help fight the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group.

Extremist violence

However, violence has been intense since May and more than a dozen people have been killed recently along their shared border.

That means border crossing posts at Mandera, Lamu and Garissa will remain closed.

"The government will delay the planned reopening of Kenya-Somalia border points until we conclusively deal with the recent spate of terror attacks and cross-border crime," Kenyan Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said.

Analysts say violence is part of an ongoing effort by al Shabaab to pressure Kenya into pulling out its troops from peacekeeping missions in Somalia.

Widespread suffering

Among the deadliest attacks on Kenyan soil was a massacre at a university in 2015 that left 148 people dead.

Amid all this, Somalia has recently faced the worst drought in forty years.

As a result, at least 6.5 million people, or nearly 40% of the population, need humanitarian assistance.