UN to help Kenya, Somalia, Uganda fight growing IED threat

A destroyed building and vehicles after a double car bomb attack at a busy junction in Mogadishu, Somalia, October 29, 2022. (Photo: Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP Photo)

By Mary Wambui
Monday, September 15, 2025

The three-year project will see the three East African nations improve the application of their legislative frameworks and build the capacities of national authorities to prevent and respond to terrorist activities involving IEDs.

Kenya, Somalia and Uganda are set to benefit from the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) support in countering Improvised Explosive Device (IED) threats, which, according to the UN, have become the weapon of choice for many terror groups.

The three-year project will see the three East African nations improve the application of their legislative frameworks and build the capacities of national authorities to prevent and respond to terrorist activities involving IEDs.

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It will also seek to raise awareness on the threat and risks of terrorist use of IEDs in Eastern Africa, as well as the joint efforts to counter them.

"It aims to enhance the security of Kenya, Somalia and Uganda. Funded by Global Affairs Canada, the project is implemented by the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) in UNOCT with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) as a technical partner and in collaboration with the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)," a brief by the UNOCT notes.

UN data shows that the use of IEDs by non-state actors in Africa has been increasing by 12 per cent annually, between 2020 and 2024, resulting in a rising number of individuals suffering from death, injury, or deep trauma from IED attacks.

"IEDs have become the weapon of choice for many terrorist groups. The number of incidents in the first half of 2025 alone demonstrates that the trend will remain the same this year. East Africa is one of the regions with the largest number of such incidents and it has seen a continuous evolution in the way terrorists obtain, produce, and deploy IEDs," says UNOCT.

Vladimir Voronkov, the Under-Secretary-General for the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, notes that how terrorists obtain, produce, and deploy IEDs continues to evolve.

"We have seen a growing use of IEDs across Africa, with devastating consequences, especially in East Africa. In 2024 alone, IED attacks caused over 1,400 casualties in Somalia. Al-Shabaab also utilised IEDs to carry out attacks on or close to the Kenya-Somalia border. Da'esh affiliates in Somalia and Mozambique have also been able to improve their operational capabilities with the recruitment of munitions experts and advancements in weapons and technology," he said.

UNOCT's Global Programme in this area has already built the capacity of 9,000 officials from 100 Member States since 2018, but the continued extensive use of IEDs in terrorist activities persists.

During its 8th review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTS), the General Assembly urged member States to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons and expressed concern that IEDs, including explosive precursors.

Meanwhile, in its quarterly analysis of violent extremism in the Horn of Africa region, IGAD's Centre of Excellence in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism noted that the period between April and June this year was marked by intense fighting in Somalia and targeted cross-border ambushes in Kenya.

"Armed assaults using small arms and light weapons dominated the tactics, while suicide bombings and mortar attacks maintained pressure in the urban centres. The tactics mainly employed to carry out the attacks were small arms and light weapons at 65 per cent, explosives and bombs at 30 per cent and others, including assassinations and infrastructural damage at 5 per cent," the centre said in the report that urged continued vigilance amid recorded gains made courtesy of intensive counter terrorism operations in Kenya and Somalia.