(Nairobi) Kenya announced on Friday that it had reinforced security in the capital Nairobi and several other cities in the country, after French and German alerts to possible attacks targeting Westerners.
Posted at 7:42
Heavily armed police patrolled the streets of Nairobi on Friday and heightened security was also visible outside government offices, public buildings and shopping malls.
“In relation to the French terror alert, we assure the public that the security of Kenyans, including critical infrastructure, is enhanced across the country, particularly in cities,” the police spokesperson said. , Bruno Shioso.
“We urge Kenyans to remain calm and share any information of suspicious activity with the police,” he added.
The French Embassy in Kenya issued a warning to its nationals against a “risk of attack in the coming days” in Nairobi, recommending to “avoid places frequented by foreign nationals” such as hotels, restaurants and shopping malls.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled the “real risk” of terrorist attacks in Kenya against public places frequented by foreigners.
In a Thursday update on its website, the ministry called on “people in Kenya (to) exercise extreme vigilance” and to “avoid frequenting these public places in the coming days, including this week-end “.
The German embassy issued a similar warning to its nationals, while the Dutch representation said it had been informed by the French of this possible threat, calling the information “credible”.
Since its military intervention in southern Somalia in 2011 to fight against the Somali Islamists Shebab, Kenya has been the target of several deadly attacks, in particular against the Westgate shopping center in Nairobi in September 2013 (67 dead), against the University of Garissa (east) in April 2015 (148 dead) and against the Dusit hotel complex, in Nairobi, in January 2019 (21 dead).
In January 2020, the Shebab, a movement linked to Al-Qaeda, warned Kenya that the country “would never be safe”.
Kenya is a major troop contributor to the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), which in 2011 drove the Al-Shabaab out of Mogadishu.
The latter still control large rural areas and regularly carry out attacks in the Somali capital.