Senator Ali Roba urges urgent action to protect Mandera from Somalia border clashes
While emphasising Kenya’s respect for the sovereignty of neighbouring states, Senator Roba warned that external conflicts must not be allowed to endanger Kenyan citizens.
Mandera Senator Ali Roba has urged the Kenyan government to take urgent and decisive action to protect residents of Mandera town from escalating security threats linked to conflict across the Somali border.
In a statement shared on his social media platforms, Senator Roba said the government has a constitutional duty to safeguard its citizens and must act without delay. He warned that “silence is not an option,” citing ongoing hostilities between Somali government forces and Jubbaland state forces that are spilling into Kenyan territory.
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According to the senator, stray bullets, rockets, and other live ordnance from the fighting in Somalia have repeatedly crossed into Mandera, causing injuries, damaging property, and creating a climate of fear.
He noted that daily life has been severely disrupted, with children unable to play outside, families living in fear, and businesses closing early in anticipation of possible cross-border attacks.
“The Federal Government of Somalia and the Jubaland administration must be told: their wars are crossing our border and violating Kenya’s sovereignty,” Roba said.
Warn both Mogadishu and Jubbaland
He called on the Kenyan government to directly warn both Mogadishu and Jubbaland leaders that the violence affecting Mandera residents is unacceptable and must stop. Roba stressed that the state’s duty is clear — to protect lives and property in Mandera “at all costs.” He said urgent intervention is essential to ensure border communities are not made to suffer from conflicts they have no part in.
The tensions stem from ongoing clashes in Somalia’s Gedo region, especially in Beled-Hawo, a town directly across from Mandera Town.
For years, Beled-Hawo has been a flashpoint between Somali federal forces and Jubbaland forces due to its strategic location and political importance. Control over the town is viewed as key to influencing the wider Gedo region.
Relations between Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Jubbaland leader Ahmed Mohamed Islam, known as Madobe, have remained strained since the president’s re-election. Their rivalry has led to intermittent fighting between their forces, sometimes involving heavy weapons fired close to the Kenyan border.
The most recent incident occurred late last month, when four Mandera residents sustained serious injuries from stray bullets fired during intense clashes between the Somalia National Army (SNA) and Jubbaland Special Forces in Beled-Hawo.
Mandera County Commissioner Henry Ochako confirmed the incident, saying the civilians were wounded when live rounds from the Somali side missed their targets and landed inside Kenya.
“Four of our people were hurt in an unfortunate turn of events after they were hit by stray bullets from Somalia’s side following a fire exchange between SNA and Jubbaland Special Forces in the neighbouring town of Belet Hawa,” Ochako said.
Innocent residents hit
He added that the shots, fired at random during the fighting, struck innocent residents going about their daily activities. The injured were taken to local health facilities for treatment.
Senator Roba has long voiced concern over Mandera’s vulnerability to cross-border violence and has repeatedly called on the national government to allocate more resources for frontier security. His latest statement increases pressure on security agencies and diplomatic channels to address the issue both locally and regionally.
While emphasising Kenya’s respect for the sovereignty of neighbouring states, Roba warned that external conflicts must not be allowed to endanger Kenyan citizens. He cautioned that inaction could result in further loss of life and destruction in Mandera.
His appeal comes as Mandera residents express growing frustration over recurring incidents linked to instability in Somalia. For many, the demand extends beyond immediate protection to a long-term strategy that will prevent the spillover of armed conflict into Kenyan territory.
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