Kenya's president orders high alert over regional insecurity

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Kenya’s president on Friday ordered officials to ramp up security measures in the country owing to deteriorating conditions in the region.

In a meeting of Kenya’s National Security Council, President Uhuru Kenyatta “directed internal security institutions to heighten vigilance and surveillance across the country following the unfolding security situation in the region,” a government spokesperson said in a statement.

While the statement did not mention any specific threat or country, one of the main reasons for the orders is believed to be the escalating conflict between northern neighbor Ethiopia’s government and Tigray rebels.

Somalia in the east is battling the al-Shabaab terror group and has seen a recent rise in bombings, with the latest being Thursday’s suicide attack on a convoy of the African Union Mission in Somalia in the capital Mogadishu.

A separate statement by the National Police Service said Kenya is “an immediate neighbor to some of the affected countries … [and] may be adversely impacted.”

The police, however, refuted reports that Kenya had closed its border with Ethiopia.

Earlier this week, the government announced a reward of nearly $450,000 for five terror suspects who are believed to be planning an attack in Kenya.

The suspects are members of al-Shabaab or the Daesh/ISIS terrorist organization, according to Kenyan authorities.