NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 20 – At least 70 people lost their lives in Kenya last year due to terrorist attacks orchestrated by the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda affiliated militant outfit Al-Shabaab, a report has revealed.
The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2024 indicates that the figure marks the highest death toll since 2019.
The majority of Al-Shabaab incidents in Kenya in 2023 were concentrated in Lamu County, adjacent to the Somali border, where 26 casualties were recorded—a surge of 10 deaths compared to the previous year.
Following Lamu, Garissa and Mandera counties collectively registered 37 fatalities.
The report highlights that the two deadliest assaults by Al-Shabaab in Kenya last year involved roadside bombings.
“Both of the deadliest Al-Shabaab attacks in Kenya in 2023 involved roadside bombings, one targeting soldiers in Lamu and the other targeting police in Garissa. Ten people were killed in each attack,” the report says in part.
In 2023, the highest proportion of Al-Shabaab attacks—41 percent—targeted military personnel, followed by civilians at 22 percent.
However, the report underscores a decrease in terrorism-related deaths attributed to Al-Shabaab, dropping from 800 in 2022 to 499 in 2023—a decline of nearly 38 percent.
Notably, 86 percent of these fatalities occurred in the neighboring Somalia, with the remaining 14 percent transpiring in Kenya.
The report shows that Government-led counter-terrorism operations in Somalia has led to a surge of Al-Shabaab militants crossing into Kenya, compounded by a lack of adequate law enforcement personnel along the border.
The report argues that changes to Kenya’s security leadership have exacerbated the situation, “leading to a security gap that militants are exploiting to conduct attacks.”
The GTI report indicates that intensified counterterrorism efforts by the Somali government and allied forces contributed to a significant reduction in deaths within Somalia.
“This was especially evident in regions such as Banaadir and Shabeellaha Dhexe, with deaths from Al-Shabaab attacks falling by 76 and 89 per cent respectively between 2022 and 2023,” GTI adds.
Shabeellaha Hoose and Hiiraan in Somalia overtook Banaadir as the regions with the most Al-Shabaab deaths, recording 133 and 117 deaths respectively in 2023.
The report says that Al-Shabaab’s deadliest attack last year occurred in Shabeellaha Hoose when gunmen attacked an African Union army base with firearms and explosives, resulting in the deaths of 54 soldiers.
Al-Shabaab has consistently employed bombings and armed assaults as its primary tactics, with nearly 69 percent of terrorism-related deaths attributed to bombings in 2023, while armed assaults accounted for an additional 25 percent of fatalities.
