The Foreign Office has issued a warning to British travellers heading to Kenya for a safari over the threat posed by terrorists operating in neighbouring Somalia.
Attacks could take place at nightclubs, bars, hotels and anywhere else likely to be frequented by tourists, warned the Foreign Office (FCDO).
The FCDO named Al Shabaab, an Al Qaeda-linked terror group in Somalia has the primary source of the increased threat level, saying: “Al Shabaab has issued threats and carried out attacks against Kenya, in part, due to Kenyan military intervention in Somalia.”
Furthermore, the FCDO alert warned there is “some evidence” that Daesh (formerly ISIL) is also operating Kenya.
The FCDO said: “On 4 January, 2024 Daesh published a statement calling for a new global campaign of terrorism including a specific focus on western and Jewish targets.
“This statement and the ongoing conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories could increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks which affect British Nationals.”
Al Shabab is a Sunni Islamist militant group that controls large areas of central and southern Somalia in the Horn of Africa. For nearly two decades, the group has been involved in a violent insurgency which has claimed thousands of lives.
In December last year, Al Shabab militants reportedly reached an agreement with Somali pirates, offering protection in exchange for a share of the ransom.
Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa, stretching over 3,000 kilometres, and is strategically located near vital shipping routes on the Horn of Africa.
This comes as Iran-backed Houthi rebels operating in nearby Yemen launch drone and missile attacks on shipping.
Al Shabab has an estimated 10,000 fighters in Somalia and is known to have orchestrated numerous deadly bombings in the region.
The group is suspected to be behind the suicide bombing in Mogadishu’s capital city in 2017 that killed more than 500 people.
Al Shabab also claimed responsibility for a deadly attack in September 2013, during which four masked gunmen opened fire in a shopping centre in Nairobi, Keny, killing nearly 70 people and injuring more than 200 more.
