Kenya imposes curfew in county after al-Shabaab attack

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - The Kenyan government has imposed a 60-day dusk-to-dawn curfew in Kenya’s northern county of Mandera following Tuesday’s al-Shabaab bomb attack that left 12 people dead.

In a notice, Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Nkaisserry said all residents had to respect the 12-hour curfew and stay indoors from 6.30 p.m. to 6.30 a.m (1530 to 0330GMT).

“Every person who resides within the sub-county shall, except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a written permit granted by the Deputy county commissioner for the affected areas, remain indoors in the premises at which they reside,” Nkaisserry said.

The Kenyan minister said that the 12-hour curfew in Mandera county shall extend to 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from the Kenya/Somali border.

Ten of the 12 people who were killed in Tuesday's attack were non-locals who were to perform a play for students before the start of exams.

The Somali-based al-Qaeda affiliated terror group al-Shabaab claimed to have carried out the dawn attack on the hotel.

Mandera county has witnessed similar attacks on non-locals in the past due to its close proximity to the Kenya-Somali border. Earlier this month, six people were killed when gunmen attacked a house in the area.