Nairobi — A recent survey on the Al Shabaab terror group in Kenya, has revealed that attacks by the militant group increased by 26 percent last year.
According to the study by the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies, the number of terror-related attacks in this period stood at 77 percent, up from 51 percent the previous year.
The organization indicated that the attacks were concentrated in four counties, with Mandera being the most affected with 37 terror-related incidents.
Lamu County recorded the second-highest number of occurrences at 21, followed by 19 in Garissa and 9 in Wajir counties.
The data which is derived from the CHRIPS Terror Attacks and Arrests Observatory, further revealed that of the 77 reported attacks, close to 50 percent were targeted at security officials.
Incidents targeting security officials have been on an upward trend for the past 5 years.
In 2018 and 2019, 16 attacks were recorded as directed towards security officials. This number rose sharply to 41 in 2020.
There was a marked decrease in 2021 when only 24 incidents were captured.
The CHRIPS observatory in 2022 has documented 33 attacks targeting security officials.
The attacks in 2022 resulted in one hundred and sixteen fatalities. This is a 16 per cent increase compared to the one hundred recorded in 2021.
Of those reported dead in 2022, the majority were civilians where 42 people were killed. Other casualties were 38 suspected Al Shabaab militants, 35 Kenyan security officials and one government official.
“While security officials and counter-terror bodies in the country are to be commended for the increased measures put in place to counter violent extremism in Kenya, the Observatory data shows that Al Shabaab continues to pose a threat as the frequency of terror-related attacks has increased over the year, largely targeting security officials primarily on transit or on patrol by the use of various explosive devices,” observed Rahma Ramadhan, CHRIPS Researcher.
Although there was an increase in attacks, only twenty-nine people were arrested in the period under review.
The largest number of arrests took place in Garissa County where 9 people were arrested on suspicion of terror activities.
Unlike the previous year, in 2022 terror-related arrests were recorded in Nyeri, Narok, Kwale, Tana River, Lamu and Laikipia counties.