KDF soldiers head to Lamu's Boni Forest [PHOTO/nation.co.ke]
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has resumed bombing the Boni Forest in Lamu as attempts to flush out Al-Shabaab militants take gear.
The forest is said to have been a hideout of the group's elite wing dubbed Jaysh Al-Ayman that has been operational since 2012/13 after the deployment of Kenyan soldiers to Somalia.
According to Tana Delta OCPD Mohammed Riziki Ali, the operation started Sunday.
“We have also heard huge blasts in Nyongoro. We don’t know what is happening but we have sent a team to establish and update us.”
This comes after Operation Linda Boni director Joseph Kanyiri on Friday repeated his warning to residents living around the forest to vacate the area in the next 48 hours.
“I call on locals who are still living inside or near the forest to vacate. The bombing of Al-Shabaab hideouts in the forest will begin anytime soon or I can say it’s happening now.
"The kind of bombing that will happen will be too hot for anyone to stay inside. I am aware that some herders have for several times been spotted grazing their animals inside Boni forest and its surrounding areas.
"We will bomb the forest in a very short while and that’s why we are asking those around to move out. We are coming for the Al-Shabaab with a more serious force than ever before. If you don’t move out, we will bomb you and you won’t blame anyone,” said Kanyiri.
Kanyiri further warned that relating with Alshabaab in any capacity would deem a person their member, and that the government forces will not take it lightly.
“Let me make it clear to you that if you in any way give Al-Shabaab food and information, we will treat you as one of them. These people kill innocent people and you go ahead to assist them? We will hunt you and we will deal with you in the same manner we deal with them,” said Kanyiri.