THE MANDERA'S KILLER INJUNCTION

ADOW JUBAT

The road between Mandera and Arabia trading center has been a death trap for many soul for many years.

The notorious junction between Omar Jilliow and Arabia has claimed more than 40 lives this year alone.

Those who lost their lives on the road between Arabia and Omar Jilliow include security officers, civil servants and civilians.

The latest of more than ten serious of attacks, which shocked the country and the world as whole along the road occurred on Saturday morning, after twenty eight innocent passengers traveling home for christen December holiday, were brutally butchered by Somali based terrorist group, Al-Shabaab.

The commuters 19 men and nine women were killed after sorted out from about 60 passengers traveling on Mekka bus from Mandera to Nairobi by the assailants who made the commuters to undergoing “Islamic” oral which included recitations of introductory verses of Quran.

Those killed were all non-Muslim, who failed the oral faith test according the militia who said they were dying in protest against Kenya’s government incursion into Somalia in 2011.

The month of August has the experienced the most attacks on the road this years with 6 attacks happening the month, which led to car hijacking of three vehicles and kidnapping of 22 quarry workers.

On 19, august this year three vehicle ferrying a narcotic leaves, popularly known as Miraa from Meru to Mandera was carjacked by suspected Somali militia some kilometers from Mandera town along the prone attacked junction.

 The militia pounced into the first vehicle when the driver slowed down to negotiate through rough section of the road. The vehicles were never recovered since they were taken and is believed to one used by the militia to carry out more attacks. 

The land cruisers owned by a local businessman were taken away by the militia at the outskirts of Sheikh Barrow along Lafey – Arabia- Mandera road. They dropped the Miraa cargo on the road side before they took off across the Kenya/Somalia border.

On other incidents some months later suspect al-Shabaab militia raided Fino police post leading to injuries of two officers, while three days later, a tractor driver was killed after a road field construction site in the same neighborhood was attacked by armed men believed to be the same group responsible for police camp raid.

Their attempt to overrun the camp and steal ammunition after killing the officers manning the station, were thwarted by the security officers who engaging and outgun them in fierce gun fight that last for over 30 minutes according to the county commissioner.

Four days later, a Nissan Hommy traveling on the same route was gun ambushed and 22 quarry workers on board taken hostages for hours before they were released unscathed. 

The vehicle was later recovered some meters inside Somalia, after the fleeing militia abandoned it. At least twenty two people were on Sunday afternoon taken hostage by suspected Somali militia men in Mandera town, North-eastern region bordering the war- Somalia, before they were later released.

 The suspected al-Shabaab militia numbering 25 waylaid a Nissan Hommy, which was carrying 22 quarry workers to Mandera town from Arabia. The militia at gunpoint kidnapped all the passengers and drove them toward the border, where they later released unhurt upon stealing all their possessions.

Nkoyo said, after releasing their hostages the militia drove the empty vehicle registration no KAK 250 L Nissan Hommy owned by a business man Mohamed Osman toward the adjacent Somali border town of Bulla-Xawa. 

On 22,august another militia numbering about five and armed in sophisticated weaponry strike Earth construction company field site killing a driver of excavator, before retreating toward the adjacent Somali border.

The militia fired aimlessly at the workers, who were at the time assembled at the field construction site possibly taking instructions or having lunch shortly after cordoning off the site from all directions. 

The construction company is working on a road project that links Lefey to Mandera town and is funded by the county government to ease travelling on the road, which has been unsafe to the travelers because of militia attacks, which took advantage of the bad road which slow down vehicles.

Some days later a senior medical officer and his driver were injured in highway banditry attack along Lafey - Mandera road as scores of other passengers were robbed of money and other personal possession in a separate incident.

The health worker based at Mandera district hospital and his driver were traveling from Elwak to Mandera, when their vehicle run into the armed gang who were ransacking a commuters’ vehicle which they have prior stopped for looting.

The medical officer sustained injuries on his left hand, while the driver got a vital chest injury after a bullet which hit from the back lodge at the chest.

The bandits also robbed ksh 18,000 and more than twenty mobile phones from the passengers in the bus which they also stopped prior to the attack of the medical officer.

 

Arabia ward member of the County assembly (MCA) Abdullahi Abdirahman who spoke to Standard on phone said the attacks happened 15 kilometers from Arabia town at about 5 am local time, and blamed the national government for the beastly killing of innocent commuters.

He accused the government of not taking their repeated calls to establish a strong military presence in Arabia to thwarted recurrent attacks from suspected Islamist militia, who frequently ambushed vehicles using Mandera-Arabia rod and killing, maiming and looting people at will.

“We had more than 15 militia attacks that has led to death and maiming of travelers in this road for the last one year alone. We have pleaded the government to provide security, but they have turned deaf ears and here today we are experiencing avoidable massacre” he lamented.