Security beefed up in Nairobi after warnings of possible terror attack
Security has been beefed up in Nairobi after several European embassies warned of a risk of a possible terror attack in Kenya.
The French embassy in Nairobi delivered a statement to its citizens on Thursday, warning of the threat of an assault in the coming days.
It warned on its website that facilities frequented by foreigners, such as restaurants, hotels, and shopping malls, were at risk of being targeted.
“Therefore, people in Kenya are advised to be extremely vigilant and avoid these public places in the coming days, including this weekend,” it said.
The German embassy in Nairobi issued a similar warning, while the Dutch mission said it had been informed by the French of the possible threat and that it considered the information “credible”.
The National Police Service has urged people to avoid public places and remain vigilant.
In a statement, it “assured the public that security in the country has been scaled up through different policing operations”.
“We urge the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities,” the statement added.
Security was stepped up outside important government offices, five-star hotels, private buildings, and shopping malls in Nairobi on Friday, with heavily armed officers roaming the streets.
Kenya has been targeted by the al-Shabab militant group in revenge for sending troops into Somalia in 2011 as part of an African Union mission to fend off the insurgents.
Al-Shabab terrorists killed 21 people in the upmarket DusitD2 hotel and office complex in Nairobi in 2019.
In 2015, 148 persons were killed in an attack on Garissa University in eastern Kenya, almost all of whom were students. After being identified as Christians, many people were shot at point-blank range.
It was Kenya’s second-bloodiest incident, only eclipsed by al-1998 Qaeda’s bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi, which killed 213 people.
In 2013, a four-day siege at Nairobi’s Westgate retail mall resulted in the deaths of 67 people.
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