Homes set ablaze in Lamu attack, KDF begins search for militia in forest

LAMU COUNTY: Tension is high in Ras Kitau area, Lamu County, following an arson attack on homes and business premises on Sunday night.

This came as the Kenya Defence Forces intensified strikes inside Boni forest in search of militiamen behind recent massacres in the region that have claimed close to 100 lives.

According to Kenya Red Cross Society and local administrators, the arson began at around 2am. Ras Kitau is on Manda Island, northwards from Lamu Island. However, the arson has not been confirmed to be the work of militiamen.

Kenya Red Cross Manager for Lamu County Mohamed Abdulkadir told The Standard Monday that about ten people attacked Kitau Hotel and set its roof on fire. Two houses were also burnt in the process.

“There were no casualties but the area is tense,” said Mohamed as reports emerged that besides the hotel, the assailants also torched houses owned by settlers at Migoza and Corola.

A witness Julius Fondo said he saw people torching the hotel and some houses on the beachfront.

“I woke up after hearing my dog bark and when I looked out, I saw four men coming towards my house and that is when I ran out to hide in the bushes from where I could see them burning the hotel,” said Fondo. Lamu County Commissioner Miiri Nenjga confirmed the incident and said they have launched investigations but claimed the arsonists were not the militiamen behind recent killings.

Mr Njenga said the burnt hotel had been closed down for the past 20 years and they are probing the motive behind the arson. Meanwhile, KDF forces stepped up operation in Boni where the killer gangs are said to be hiding. KDF is said to have bombed a section of the forests to flush out the attackers.

SPOTTED ASSAILANTS

Explosions were heard in the forest where the KDF officers have been on an operation since last week and it is believed they could have spotted the assailants in their hideouts. Sources told The Standard that they heard explosions when KDF struck militia positions with mortar.

Njenga confirmed that KDF had launched the attacks. He said forces deployed in the forests are using all their machinery to flush out the militants.

A source from the combined security agents conducting the operations said the military have been surveying and mapping the forest using drones but due to the thickness of the forest, visibility was poor and this necessitated the use of drones to spot the killers.

Njenga made the remarks at the Lamu port offices after holding a meeting with the area’s elected leaders.