Kenya closes stone quarries in border region amid terror threats

Friday, December 04, 2015

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Kenyan authorities on Tuesday ordered all quarries in Mandera County near the Somali border be closed and all workers vacate the places due to terror threats.

The police directive comes at a time when the stone miners have become targets of the Somalia-based militant group Al-Shabaab, with the latest attack in July claiming 14 lives in Mandera county.

On December 2, 2014, 36 miners were killed by Al-Shabaab militants as they slept in makeshift tents in the same county.

“It’s our duty to protect the lives and property of Kenyan,” Mandera County Police Commander Job Boronjo told journalists.

Boronjo said that the dynamics of where the quarry workers eke a living is prone to Al Shabaab attacks and that the government is determined to protect life.

Kenya is currently engaged in the fight against the Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia, where its soldiers under the Africa Union peacekeeping mission have been registering impressive gains and extending humanitarian assistance to the local population.

The government has also upscaled security operations in the region with members of the public giving information on impeding attacks.

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