Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome landed in Lamu Friday, June 30 for a series of security meetings with local bosses to address fears of more terror-related attacks.
Officials said the visit came hours after security chiefs on Thursday night averted a planned attack in Kibokoni area chasing a gang of about 50 that planned a massacre.
Officials aware of the situation said there were gunshots that were heard in the area before the gang escaped on Thursday night.
Koome held meetings with the multi-agency teams involved in the ongoing security operations to ensure peace and tranquility prevail in the area.
He said police are committed to protecting life and property, considering the recent attacks that resulted in the loss of innocent lives and wanton destruction of property in Lamu.
The terrorists are hiding in the more prominent Boni Forest in the area.
At least five men were beheaded and many houses torched in an al Shabaab attack in Salama and Juhudi villages in Mkunumbi Division, Lamu County last Saturday night.
Koome had last week visited parts of Garissa County which is also facing terror threats.
Terrorists who cross from the porous Kenya-Somalia border have in the last month alone left more than 30 people most of them security officials dead.
There are fears of more attacks in the border region amid calls for intensified operations to stop the trend.
Boni Forest is an operation zone as the national government has since 2015 conducted a multi-agency security exercise dubbed Linda Boni, which is aimed at flushing out al Shabaab militants believed to be hiding there.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki visited Lamu two weeks ago for a three-day tour to assess the region’s security situation, during which he assured Lamu residents and Kenyans at large that their safety is guaranteed.
Kindiki also said the government will do all it takes to fight and end the terror menace in the country.
“We have already set aside Sh20 billion to purchase advanced security equipment, including armored personnel carrier vehicles, drones, and other gadgets so that our security agencies get proper safety as they effectively fight the terrorists,” said the CS.
The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by locals.
Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.
