Kenyan security forces are holding three trucks carrying food aid and contracted by World Food Programme (WFP), at the Kenya-Somalia border, owing to suspicions that the supplies could end up in the hands of Al Shabaab militants.
The WFP said the trucks had all the required paperwork from Kenyan authorities and that the U.N. agency carefully monitors its shipments to make sure it reaches its intended recipients.
Mohamud Saleh, regional coordinator or the top government official in the North Eastern region, said the vehicles were held on Monday in Mandera county along the border, awaiting reassurances from WFP Somalia that the food aid would not fall in the hands of the militants.
“We want them to assure us the food goes to the right place because we don’t want our enemies to be fed by food from our territory,” he said.
On Monday, security forces patrolling the Kenya-Somalia border along the expansive Boni forest on Monday killed four Al Shabaab militants, recovering a police vehicle-a Ford Ranger, which had been stolen on December 16, 2015 during an attack at Milihoi near Mkunumbi in Lamu County.
According to KDF Spokesperson Col David Obonyo, Monday’s hunt also resulted in the recovery of four AK-47 rifles, three improvised explosive devices (IED), three pistols, ammunition and a global positioning system (GPS) gadget, reports the Daily Nation.
The Somalia-based al Shabaab group has launched frequent attacks in neighbouring Kenya since late 2011 when Nairobi sent soldiers across the border to fight the militants.
