Calm Restored in Kenya’s Elwak After Overnight Clash With Suspected Militants

GOOBJOOG NEWS | ELWAK, Kenya: Calm returned to the border town of Elwak in Mandera Central sub-county on Tuesday after police repelled an overnight attack by suspected militants targeting a compound housing Chinese contractors, authorities said.

According to a preliminary police report, the incident occurred between 1:15 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. when armed suspects opened fire on the residence. Police officers on duty engaged the attackers, forcing them to withdraw.

Security officials said the assailants entered Elwak using four vehicles. Two were later seen fleeing toward Burahache through border cutline routes, while the whereabouts of the remaining vehicles remain unknown.

During the exchange, the compound’s main gate was destroyed by a rocket-propelled grenade. No casualties were reported, and all police officers, contractors and site personnel were unharmed, police said.

A multi-agency security operation involving the Border Police Unit, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the Kenya Defence Forces and the Kenya Police Service was launched following the attack. Clearance patrols began early Tuesday, with the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit leading investigations.

Authorities said security has been reinforced in the area and assured residents that operations would continue until the situation is fully secured.

Elwak lies close to Kenya’s border with Somalia, a region where security remains fragile and where militant incursions have periodically disrupted periods of relative calm.