The government has impounded three World Food Programme trucks
for allegedly ferrying food to Al-Shabaab militants, Mandera County
Commissioner Fredrick Shisia has said.
Speaking in his
office on Tuesday, Mr Shisia said the trucks, destined for Dholo,
Somalia, were suspected to be carrying food and other items for the
terror group.
“We have stopped transiting of WFP
consignment because of allegations that there was a meeting between the
community and [the] Somalia government to the effect that Al-Shabaab be
allowed to pick [up] food and other logistical arrangements undeterred,”
he said.
He said the government was not willing to
allow Al-Shabaab to replenish their supplies and then turn on Kenya,
threatening its security and people.
“We need an
explanation from [the] WFP as to who is the sole beneficiary of the food
programme before we allow it to get into Somalia,” said Mr Shisia.
DOING A GOOD JOB
He
said the WFP was doing a good job but their arrangements on the ground
are not clear and it is suspected the NGO could be feeding the
government’s enemy.
“We will not allow or assist
anybody from our end if those benefiting from the food programme are
militants who later turn against our country,” said Mr Shisia.
He
said a fourth truck, ferrying a Toyota Land Cruiser, was allowed to
proceed into Somalia but the other three vehicles were held with an
unknown quantity of what is said to be food on Saturday.
The
move has caused tension since Sunday after it was alleged that the
militant group had dispatched its members to carry out attacks in
Mandera town and get the trucks.
“On Sunday there was a
message wanting NGOs [to get] out of Mandera. These are the antics of
Al-Shabaab and we appeal to NGOs to confirm with us the authenticity of
such messages before taking any action,” he said.
When
contacted for comment by Nation.co.ke, WFP Senior Regional Spokeswoman
Challis McDonough expressed shock at the decision to impound the
vehicles.
“It is not WFP policy to transport any food stuff for any other reason apart for humanitarian purposes,” she said.
She said she did not have full information on the matter as she had just arrived in the country from Ethiopia.
Ms McDonough said it is not “unusual” for the WFP to transport food to Somalia.
'DIRECTIVES FROM ABOVE'
A
government source, who wished not to be named, said a security team in
Mandera had received “directives from above” not to allow any
humanitarian aid to cross into Somalia without a proper explanation.
“These
are means to starve the militants who depend on donors for food supply
and it has been triggered by the El-Adde attack that left an unknown
number of Kenyan soldiers dead,” said the source.
The
government has been engaging the NGOs in efforts to combat terrorism and
in April 2015, it deregistered several NGOs on the grounds that they
were funding militant groups.
On the ongoing security
operation after a series of attacks in Mandera last December, Mr Shisia
said the situation in Mandera was good.
“The ground is well covered and dominated by our security officers in the hotspot areas as the community cooperates,” he said.
Additional information by Samuel Karanja.
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