This archive report was first published on 7 January 2022.
On January 7, 2022, a devastating attack occurred in Lamu County, Kenya, leaving four police officers dead. The incident took place in a region bordering Somalia, which has been prone to incursions by Al-Shabaab militants.
The attack happened in Lamu County, where the government had deployed security forces and declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew following the murder of seven civilians in a series of raids earlier in the week.
Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia confirmed the incident, stating, 'We had an incident today morning and we have lost four police officers. Their vehicle was hit and caught fire.'
The attackers were being pursued at the time of the attack, according to Macharia.
A senior police officer in Lamu, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed that the vehicle was on patrol when it was 'hit directly' by a rocket-propelled grenade.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Lamu region has suffered frequent attacks, often carried out with roadside bombs, due to its proximity to the Somali frontier.
Al-Shabaab fighters have staged numerous raids inside Kenya in retaliation for Nairobi sending troops into Somalia in 2011 as part of an African Union force to oust the jihadists.
