NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 2 — The government has restricted the airspace above the Laikipia Nature Conservancy and the surrounding areas to facilitate the ongoing operation to flush out bandits who have continued to wreak havoc in the area for months.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi said on Friday that the airspace will be closed over the duration of the security operation pointing out that the decision followed a National Security Council meeting which aimed at reviewing the security situation in parts of troubled Laikipia County.
Matiangi said that no aircraft or any airborne transportation equipment will be allowed into the airspace around Laikipia Nature Conservancy and surrounding environs without the express authority of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) and the Interior Ministry.
“The NSC noted that the ongoing security operation has been successful in stopping banditry incursions and in restoring normalcy in majority of the areas of the County. However, bandits lurking within the environs of the Laikipia Nature Conservancy and surrounding areas continue to wage armed attacks and other criminal activities on innocent Kenyans,” Matiangi said in a statement.
He added that the directive which also aims to cut off the supply lines for the criminal gangs operating in the area will remain in force for 30 days.
The NSC further declared the area around the Laikipia Nature Conservancy and its environs be designated as a Disturbed Area hence a Security Operation Zone.
In September 2021, Matiangi declared a dusk to dawn curfew in the Laikipia Nature Conservancy to pave way for a security operation that has been ongoing to date.
Matiangi said the security operation will be sustained to flush out criminals.
The decision followed an NSC meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta that met after weeks of escalating insecurity that resulted to loss of lives and displacement of hundreds of people.
However, despite the presence of heavy security deployment in the area, bandits have continued to stage attacks that have left dozens dead, injured several and displaced thousands of families.
Recurrent attacks have forced the government to change tact in efforts to combat the violence by adopting a multi-agency approach and involvement in community empowerment programs.
