Residents of Mandera East Sub County were shocked after suspected Al-Shabaab militants stormed the Komor Haile mosque at night and forced worshippers to listen to them.

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“It is Ramadhan and we go to the mosques at night for prayers and teachings,” said the local.

The suspected Al-Shabaab militants preached to the tensed worshippers for about 5 hours. They were heavily armed though never attacked anyone, as they said, “No machine gun fire.. Just the Qur'an.”

Before going to the church, the heavy armed militants had gone to the area chief’s home but never found him.

“They arrived when a sheikh was delivering a sermon, snatched the microphone and ordered him to sit and listen. We were shocked,” said one believer. 

Instead of preaching the Quran, they based their preaching on speaking against the Kenya government, local civil servants and security officials.

However, it is not clear which means the militants used. “If they had vehicles then they were left far and used them to carry what they looted in local shops,” confirmed one of the locals. 

The area County Commissioner Mr. Kutswa Olaka refused to give any comments concerning this incidence.