Kenya: Hospital construction workers shot dead near border with Somalia

APNews reported on 8 June 2024 that gunmen in northern Kenya fatally shot four construction workers at a hospital site close to the Dadaab refugee camp not far from the border with Somalia where the al-Shabaab militant group is based. In recent days, northern Kenya has seen violence in a number of different locations that has left several people dead. According to APNews, the recent attacks have forced the government to suspend plans to reopen the 700-kilometre (434-mile) Kenya-Somalia border that was closed in 2011.
 

World Watch Research analyst Yonas Dembele comments: “Al-Shabaab militants have long been active in northern Kenya, particularly in the counties of Mandera, Wajir and Garissa, which border Somalia. The group has been responsible for numerous attacks on security forces and civilians, resulting in significant loss of life and damage to property. Al-Shabaab has specifically targeted Christians in some of these attacks, often separating them from Muslims and executing them. While this incident in northern Kenya did not specifically target Christians, in the broader context of al-Shabaab’s activities such incidents highlight the threat that these militants pose to the Christian community.”