Operation Linda Boni a success, says Lamu administrator

Kenya Navy soldiers patrol Hindi in Lamu County after the start of Operation Linda Boni. Lamu County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri has warned drivers of buses operating on Lamu-Garsen route against evading police escort. FILE PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Kanyiri said what all the soldiers were now doing was keeping vigil in the area.
  • He said there were no terror incidents in Lamu so far and that no arrests had been made in recent times.
  • Mr Kanyiri, however, said the operation would go on indefinitely.
  • Before the operation, it was believed that more than 300 Al-Shabaab militants were living inside the expansive Boni Forest.

Lamu County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri has said security forces who have been conducting the multiagency Operation Linda Boni for nine months now have successfully flushed out Al-Shabaab militants from the Boni Forest.

Speaking to the Nation in Lamu on Sunday, Mr Kanyiri said what all the soldiers were now doing was keeping vigil in the area.

Mr Kanyiri said the operation which was launched on September 11, 2015 has recorded huge success.

He said Lamu County which was previously prone to terror attacks is now stable and secure.

He said there were no terror incidents in Lamu so far and that no arrests had been made in recent times.

He said that was proof enough that the security forces had successfully put Al-Shabaab under control and was also proof that the militants had either been eliminated or driven out by the forces.

OPERATION TO GO ON

Mr Kanyiri, however, said the operation would go on indefinitely since KDF soldiers and other security agencies were still in Boni Forest to man the area and also carry out infrastructural upgrade which is a stronghold of the marginalised Boni community.

“When people hear of Operation Linda Boni, they think it is something to do with fighting Al-Shabaab throughout.

“They should understand that apart from restoring peace and stability in the area, our security forces were also supposed to improve infrastructure and the general welfare of the Boni people in the operation zone,” said Mr Kanyiri.

Recently, the Kenya Defence Forces spokesman Col David Obonyo said KDF had dominated all key areas in Lamu where the Linda Boni security operation is being conducted.

Speaking to the Nation by phone, Col Obonyo said the forces had covered all loopholes and that there was no way through for the militants.

He said the operation would go on until security is restored in the region and all traces of terrorists completely eradicated.

Before the operation, it was believed that more than 300 Al-Shabaab militants were living inside the expansive Boni Forest with their families from where they conducted attacks on military vehicles and civilians.