Kenya had reduced impact of terrorism in 2023, says report

Kenya recorded a fall in the impact of terrorism in 2023 compared to the previ-ous year, moving from a high to medium impact country.

The Global Terrorism Index 2024, Kenya moved from a score of 6.163 (high impact) to 5.616 under the medium impact. Kenya is however positioned 18 in the list of top 20 countries most impacted by terrorism.

Burkina Faso is leading the group followed by Israel, both ranked at ‘very high’. The ‘high’ impact category is led Mali, followed by Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia respectively.

Other African countries under this category are Nigeria, Cameroon, DRC, Mozambique among others. Countries under ‘medium impact are Kenya, Chile, Philippines, and Egypt. The GTI report further states that glob-ally, deaths from terrorism rose from 6,701 in 2022 to 8,352 in 2023, representing a 22 per cent increase.

The deaths are now at their highest level since 2017, even though the number of terrorist attacks decreased to 3,350 from 4,321 attacks in 2022, a decrease of 23 per-cent.

“Terrorism attacks became more deadly in 2023 with 2.5 deaths per attack com-pared to 1.6 in 2022,” the report states. Al Shabaab has been found to be very active in East Africa and executed several attacks in Somalia in the latter part of 2023.

Notable setback

“Despite initial advancements, the So-mali government faced notable setbacks in the latter part of 2023. These challenges led to Somalia’s request to the United Na-tions for a three-month postponement of the planned withdrawal of 3,000 African Union peacekeepers,” the report states.

In 2023, terrorism deaths attributed to AI Shabaab fell from 800 in 2022 to 499 in 2023, a decline of almost 38 per cent. The Kenyan security agencies have at-tributed this improved ranking to the on-going Multi-Agency Security Operations against the militants in Lamu and the North Eastern region.

A number of terrorists have been killed, their makeshift camps destroyed and some arrested and prosecuted.

“The government is committed to fur-ther reducing the impact of terrorism to guarantee security and prosperity. This will be achieved bearing in mind the modern security equipment the government has acquired for use by security agencies,” a senior official said.

Soft power approach

The government said there are also de-liberate efforts to invest in soft power ap-proach to empower communities to work with security agencies especially through sharing information.

Additionally, the government is using development approach to deal with vio-lent extremism and terrorism by investing in infrastructure and other economic proj-ects like Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethio-pia-Transport (LAPSSET) corridor project.

A scene of an Al Shabaab grenade and gun attack launched on a residential block in Mandera town when people were sleeping. It was tone of the deadly attacks targeting Christians in the mainly Muslim region.

Al Qaeda affiliate retained its nine-year consecutive record of kitting more than 400 people annually by its terror activities to stimulate the country’s economy.

Of the 499 deaths attributed to Al Sha-baab in 2023, 86 per cent occurred in So-malia and the remaining 14 per cent (70 deaths) occurred in Kenya.

Deaths in Somalia almost halved in 2023, driven by the success of the Somali government and allied forces’ operations. Al Shabaab’s deadliest attack of 2023 occurred in Shabeellaha Hoose when gun-men attacked an African Union army base with firearms and explosives, resulting in the deaths of 54 soldiers.

In Kenya terrorism deaths attributed to Al Shabaab increased from 58 to 70 deaths in 2023. Most deaths occurred in Lamu (26 deaths), followed by Garissa and Mandera counties, which collectively recorded 37 deaths.

Both of the deadliest Al Shabaab attacks in Kenya in 2023 involved roadside bomb-ings, one targeting soldiers in Lamu and the other targeting police in Garissa, and most attacks were directed at the military.

Al-Shabaab have consistently utilised bombings and armed assaults as its main modes of attack. Over half of terrorism deaths attributed to Al Shabaab in 2023 were the result of bombings, while armed assaults accounted for a further 25 percent of deaths.

Somalia also recorded a fall in the im-pact of terrorism in 2023, continuing a trend that began five years ago. There were 434 deaths and 193 incidents in 2023, a fall of 43 per cent and 37 per cent respectively compared to the previous year.