Suspected Al-Shabaab Militants Destroy Safaricom Mast in Latest Lamu County Attack

Suspected militants from the Islamist group al-Shabaab have destroyed a telecommunications mast in a remote village in Lamu county, leaving residents cut off from mobile phone and internet services.

The raid took place in the early hours of Tuesday in Mangai village, with attackers striking the Safaricom tower at around 12.30 am before fleeing into the night.

No casualties were reported in the incident, but the sabotage has left residents of Mangai and surrounding communities without mobile connectivity, severely limiting access to emergency response, family communications, and basic services in a region where networks are already sparse.

This latest strike follows a similar attack in the same village nearly a year ago, highlighting ongoing vulnerabilities along Kenya’s porous border with Somalia.

Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist organization, has long used attacks on infrastructure as a tactic to disrupt government control and retaliate against Kenya’s participation in the African Union-led mission combating the group in Somalia.

Security forces have launched an investigation and are assessing the damage, while residents have called for increased patrols and swift restoration of services.

Safaricom, a Vodafone-affiliated company with a dominant share in the country’s telecoms market, is expected to dispatch repair teams once the site is secured.

More to follow…