by Zadock Angira

At least five quarry workers were killed yesterday morning in an attack while on the way to work in Bur Abor Village in Mandera East, Mandera County.

The killings bring to over 100, the number of quarry workers, mainly Christians from outside the county, killed in Mandera in the last 10 years.

Detectives said preliminary investigations linked the attack to Al Shabaab militants who had been spotted in the area earlier before the attack.

“All the victims were non locals who were working at a quarry for a living. They have been excavating stones for construction in the area,” police said.

Witnesses said the militants ambushed a vehicle with the workers by blocking the road with stones before attacking them at around 7 am. Reports indicate that some of the workers managed to escape.

Ordered to lie down

Witnesses said the attackers were armed with rifles and ordered the workers to lie down before they shot them at close range.

The locals said most of the quarries in the area are dominated by non-locals who usually spend the nights in Mandera town for security reasons, and are only picked in the morning to go and work in the quarries.

Security teams who were patrolling the area responded, but arrived when the gang had already escaped. By yesterday evening, there was still tension in the town as security officers enhanced patrols in the area.

Some of the injured workers were rushed to Mandera Referral Hospital following the deadly attack that happened at 7 am.

“No arrest has been made. A reinforcement has been sent to the area to assist officers on the ground,” police headquarters said.

Police also said the victims had left town in a matatu which was not being escorted by security officers, as has been the norm in the recent past.

“The identities of the victims are being confirmed. Efforts are underway to notify their families and home communities,” said Mohamed Abdiaziz Roble, the village administrator of Bur Abor, in an official brief.

Roble also urged community members to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the authorities.

“This is a deeply troubling event. We are working closely with security forces to ensure justice and restore a sense of safety,” added Roble.

Al Shabab militia

Mandera has witnessed several terror attacks in the recent past. On March 24, Al Shabaab militants also shot dead a National Police Reservist (NPR) in Iresuki village.

Reports indicated that the NPR had given prior intelligence of the planned attack but the security agencies did not act in good time, leading to the attack that came just a day after the militants overran an NPR camp in Fafi, Garissa County and killed six people.

Officials said approximately 30 armed militants raided the village around 5am and engaged the NPR officers in heavy gunfire.  The attackers, armed with AK-47 rifles and PKM machine guns, targeted the NPR post, leading to the fatal shooting of officer Abdikher Ibrahim.

Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif has expressed concern over the persistent attacks despite the presence of intelligence information, the military, and special forces.

Reports further indicate that similar quarry attacks in 2014 and 2015 paralysed construction works in the area as the militants targeted workers at the sites, killing dozens.

This comes amid security concerns that the terror group and Yemen’s Ansar Allah rebels have struck an alliance that threatens to destabilise more of the Red Sea region, along with parts of the Horn of Africa. At the heart of the alliance and concerns is that al-Shabaab has money and needs weapons to fight the Somali government.

The Ansar Allah rebels, known as the Houthis, have weapons and need money to operate in parts of northwestern Yemen where they are the de facto government and allies.

The area has been facing an increase in terror-related attacks, partly attributed to its proximity to the Somalia border, among other factors. These attacks have left many dead and others displaced.

The government says they have acquired more resources to enhance operations in the border area against the terrorists.

The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, where the terrorists cross at will for attacks before retreating to their areas of control. Similar attacks have happened in the area for over ten years. In July 2015, 14 people were killed and several others wounded in a gun attack near a military camp at the Kenyan border with Somalia. The victims were workers from a local quarry in Mandera county in the north-east of the country.