A KDF soldier has died and five others injured after two IEDs exploded in different locations in Lamu near the Somali border, like reported by the-star.co.ke.

The explosions also destroyed armoured vehicles that the soldiers were using for patrols near Sirira and Ishakan on Tuesday afternoon.

KDF said the explosive devices have been planted on the roads by the Al Shabaab.

More officers have been deployed in the area to reinforce surveillance and patrols.

Last night, US President Donald Trump spoke with President Uhuru Kenyatta on how to overcome terrorism and other regional security challenges through close cooperation.

President Trump expressed appreciation for Kenya’s significant contributions to the African Union Mission in Somalia and recognised Kenyan troops’ sacrifices in the fight against al-Shabaab.

In November 2015, another officer died and six others were injured after suspected al Shabaab militants detonated an Improvised Explosive Device in Lamu.

The officers were in a convoy of a security team driving from the border town of Hullugho to Bulla-Golol in Fafi sub-county.

“I was ahead of the security convoy heading to Bulla-Golol area, when I was alerted that one of the vehicles in our team was involved in an accident,” sub-county commissioner Duncan Okwatch said.

“My vehicle was ahead of the convoy and was about a kilometre away when the incident happened.”

Okwatch said the officer succumbed to injuries while the other six received first aid at their military camp in Hullugho town before they were airlifted to Nairobi for treatment.

Top al Shabaab leader Hussein Mukhtar on Tuesday surrendered to the Somali National Army in Baidoa, like reported by the-star.co.ke.

The African Union Mission in Somalia termed Mukhtar’s decision courageous and urged other fighters in the terror group to surrender to authorities.

“Amisom hopes that other sons and daughters of Somalia who have been misled into terrorist acts will [emulate Mukhtar],” the mission said via Twitter.

“[They should] lay down their weapons and join other Somalis in rebuilding their country,” it added, noting the government had offered amnesty.

The insurgency in Somalia wants to topple the government and impose its own strict interpretation of Islam.

Al Shabaab ruled most of south-central Somalia until 2011 when it was driven out of Mogadishu by African Union troops.

Despite the loss of territory, the terror group still carries out major gun and bomb attacks against nations that have contributed troops to Amisom.

On March 2, Kenya said its forces had killed 57 militants in a battle in southern Somalia but the group denied any of its fighters had died in the clash.

Kenya Defence Forces spokesman Colonel Joseph Owuoth said the ambush took place 31 kilometres northwest of Afmadow at 8.45am.

He said the troops used artillery and helicopter gunships against the militants.

More on this: KDF kills 57 al Shabaab militants in Somalia

In January, al Shabaab fighters attacked a Kenyan military base in the southern Somali town of Kulbiyow near the border.

KDF said nine soldiers died, while al Shabaab said it killed at least 66.

Read: Kulbiyow deaths surpass KDF number, al Shabaab releases photos

Somalia has been torn apart by civil war since 1991 and now a drought threatens to tip the Horn of Africa nation into famine.

Last month parliamentarians elected a new president who vowed to stamp out al Shabaab.

Niger’s defense ministry says at least five gendarmes have been killed in an attack near the country’s western border with Mali, like reported by ap.org.

The ministry says the attack by armed suspected extremists early Monday in Wanzarbe in the Bankilare department also left one gendarme wounded. The ministry says on television that forces are in the zone to combat any suspected extremists still there. No further details have been released.

Two weeks ago Islamic extremists killed at least 15 soldiers along that border in the Tillaberi region.

The attacks follow a February agreement among the presidents of five countries in Africa’s vast Sahel region to set up a joint counterterrorism force.

Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Chad have been targeted by numerous extremist groups, including Boko Haram and others linked to al-Qaida.

The European Union is set to approve the creation of a headquarters for its military training missions in Somalia, Mali and the Central African Republic, like reported by ap.org.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said she would urge foreign and defense ministers Monday to “take immediate decisions on the establishment of a military planning and conduct capability.”

She said it would provide a “more efficient approach to the existing military training missions we have.”

The term “headquarters” is taboo in Brussels, with members like Britain saying the EU must not waste money by doing similar things to NATO.

Arriving for the meeting, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said just that, urging his European partners “to cooperate more closely with NATO to avoid unnecessary duplication and structures.”

Militants attacked a Malian army post near the border of Burkina Faso on Sunday, killing 11 soldiers, a Mali defence ministry spokesman told Reuters.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack, but Islamist groups including al-Qaeda affiliates have been resurgent in recent months in Mali, attacking army positions beyond their usual strongholds in the north, like reported by newsweek.com.

“The post was attacked between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. in Boulkessi, and there were 11 killed and five wounded,” said defence spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Sidibé.

He said a deployment of troops had been sent to the town as reinforcements, but did not say if the attackers had been caught by Sunday night.

Islamist groups such as Ansar Dine have stepped up their insurgency in Mali over the past year. In 2016, they carried out dozens of attacks on United Nations and other targets and spread south into areas previously deemed safe.

Al-Qaeda’s North African ally al-Mourabitoun in January claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on a military camp in northern Mali that killed up to 60 people and wounded more than 100 others, an attack it said was revenge against groups cooperating with French forces in the region.

France intervened in Mali in 2013 to drive back Islamist groups that seized the desert north a year earlier and maintains a regional operation aimed at stamping out insurgents.

Troops of 8 Task Force Division, Nigerian Army, on clearance operations under the auspices of Operation LAFIYA DOLE in the North East, had an encounter with Boko Haram terrorists at Chikun Gudu, northern part of Borno State, like reported by dailypost.ng .

Army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, in a statement said during the encounter, the gallant troops neutralized quite a number of the terrorists, while others escaped with gun shot wounds.

They also captured gun trucks, arms and ammunition as well as 14 terrorists.

The statement added that: “The troops captured 2 Toyota Gun trucks stolen from Niger Republic Defence Forces, 2 Toyota Hilux Gun trucks, one of which was taken by the Boko Haram terrorists from 153 Task Force Battalion location sometime back, a 25 HP Yamaha Outboard Engine, 2 Solar panels and 5 empty Belts of Anti-Aircraft Guns ammunition links.

“Others include 1 Gun bipod, 12 pairs of Boko Haram terrorists fighters uniform, 5 flags, 37 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition, 84 copies of Holy Quran and 270 books on Islamic Literature.

“The troops also recovered and destroyed over 70 motorcycles used by the terrorists to launch attacks, 3 shops stocked with medical supplies, 3 other shops with provisions and 3 wooden boats.

“They also recovered 2 Niger Republic Drivers’ Licenses, 2 mobile telephone handsets and 2 Wooden Slates.

“Unfortunately, 4 of soldiers were wounded in action and they have been evacuated to a medical facility where they are receiving treatment.”

The United Nations Security Council is today in Chad, as part of a four-country visit “to shine a spotlight” on the ongoing humanitarian challenges in the Lake Chad Basin region and draw international attention to the plight of about 11 million people, like reported by un.org.

In the Chadian capital of N’Djamena, the Council met with Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacké and visited the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which includes troops from the four affected regional countries – Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, plus Benin – in the fight against Boko Haram.

“The Security Council welcomed the efforts to fight Boko Haram and encouraged more regional cooperation,” according to a Tweet by the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the UN which has the Security Council’s rotating presidency for the month of March and is leading the visit.

Discussions with the Prime Minister also focused on the economic situation in Chad and the importance of women participating in the economy and politics.

Also today, the Council members met with representatives of the UN agencies, funds and programmes and non-governmental organizations working in the country.

They are working to aid the millions of people who, in addition to the security threat from Boko Haram and the fight against the terror group, also face a major food and nutrition crises. Some 2.4 million people are currently displaced in the area, according to UN figures, and more than 7.1 million are severely hungry.

In his conversations with the Council, Stephen Tool, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Coordinator in Chad, detailed the severe challenges in the countries, which include malnutrition, disease and health, sanitation. He noted, however, that “you cannot deal with humanitarian issues without looking at the root causes” which include insecurity, development gaps, lack of education, poor agriculture, and so on.

‘That’s who we’re fighting for’

The Security Council delegation, led by Ambassador Matthew Rycroft of the United Kingdom, had yesterday visited Cameroon, where members met with President Paul Biya and other senior Government officials.

The Council also met with refugees and people displaced by Boko Haram and the forces tracking them.

In a blog post, Mr. Rycroft detailed meeting two young survivors of Boko Haram’s violence. The first, a boy who was 13 years old when the terrorist group stormed his village and killed his friends and family. The other boy was about 10 years when he was kidnapped, escaped, and has since 2014 lived in a camp for internally displaced persons.

“They are heroic beyond measures,” Mr. Rycroft said. “That’s who we’re fighting for.”

Speaking earlier in the day, Mr. Rycroft outlined his vision for the visit.

“First of all, we came here in order to shine a spotlight on the situation in the Lake Chad Basin.

“We came to hear the individual stories of people involved, whether they are refugees or displaced people or other victims of Boko Haram.

“We stand with the government and the people of Cameroon, and the wider region, in tackling the scourge of terrorism, and in encouraging them to look broadly and deeply at the root causes of the set of crises going on here.”

The delegation heads to Niger later today, and is scheduled to continue on to Nigeria tomorrow.

The struggle against Boko Haram in south-eastern Niger is increasingly sharpening local conflicts over access to resources. There is no military solution to this insurgency, like reported by crisisgroup.org, and the authorities should instead put the emphasis on demobilising militants, solving local conflicts, reinvigorating the economy and restoring public services

For the last two years, Niger has been at war with Boko Haram. The conflict has disrupted this poor country’s development, especially public finances, and destabilised the south east, the main scene of armed clashes. In this region, located some 1,350km from the capital and faced with an economic collapse, the battle against Boko Haram has stoked up local intercommunal tensions and exacerbated violence over access to resources. Despite direct support from Chadian troops since 2015 and improved collaboration with the Nigerian army, Nigerien forces have been unable to put a stop to attacks by insurgents, some of whom have links to the Islamic State (IS). The military option has produced results but has also shown its limits. The war effort must be accompanied by an approach that would allow demobilisation of the movement’s militants and promote a political solution to the tensions that have stimulated its local spread. The government must also prioritise economic revival and public service provision to bring relief to an exhausted population, whose suffering fuels the insurrection.

Despite alarmist scenarios, Boko Haram has failed to extend its influence beyond the south-eastern Diffa region. This relatively wealthy territory has a special relationship with the Nigerian state of Borno. Close historical, religious, and economic ties explain the resonance of the message spread by Mohamed Yusuf, the Nigerian founder of Boko Haram. Many Nigeriens, especially young men, became his supporters after they travelled to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno, only 425km away from Diffa, in search of religious training or business opportunities. When Nigerian armed forces massacred more than 1,000 of his Nigerian followers in July 2009, many members of Boko Haram found refuge in south-eastern Niger. The movement has long avoided conducting military operations in the country to build up Diffa as a refuge and a place to seek funds, supplies and recruits.

Nigerien authorities initially responded to the Boko Haram threat by keeping the movement under surveillance. They believed that it was essentially a Nigerian problem. This attitude changed in 2014, when the threat became more pressing. Boko Haram’s territorial expansion toward the Niger border was accompanied by a new push to recruit hundreds of young Nigeriens. Persuaded by its regional and international partners to become more actively involved, Niger joined the military efforts of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF). The war effort has since proved to be a burden on the national budget and the judicial system and kindled tensions between the government and the military hierarchy.

The Diffa region is suffering from both Boko Haram attacks and counter-insurgency measures taken by the Nigerien authorities, such as the extension of the state of emergency introduced in February 2015 that includes a ban on some commercial activities. Hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people only survive thanks to foreign aid. Recourse to local vigilante committees and reprisals by Boko Haram against anyone who collaborates with the army have created a difficult atmosphere in which local score-settling, collective fear and informants are all ingredients of a dangerously toxic brew.

On the shores of Lake Chad, in the extreme east of Diffa region, Boko Haram’s presence has aggravated intercommunal tensions, which have degenerated into deadly conflicts since May 2016. Mediation between communities by the authorities since June 2016 is a welcome initiative but has yet to dissipate all of these tensions. On the lake’s islands, a group of combatants who have broken away from the Boko Haram faction led by Abubakar Shekau, head of the movement since the death of Mohamed Yusuf, is exploiting these local tensions. This group is currently trying to take root more permanently and allegedly has close ties with IS.

Faced with Boko Haram’s resilience, the Nigerien government can no longer restrict itself to an approach solely based on military operations and commercial restrictions. In December 2016, the establishment of demobilisation sites signalled a change in the policy of repression that had prevailed since 2015. The government is also drafting a special plan for the resolution of the crisis in the Diffa region. With the support of regional and international partners, it must continue in this direction and expand its counter-insurgency strategy that goes beyond a mainly military response. This is all the more important given that some insurgents have rejected the excesses of Abubakar Shekau and may try to regain the support of the local population by avoiding the targeting of Muslims. The government must also increase cooperation with its neighbours and make contingency plans for the possible disengagement of international partners, whose public finances are deteriorating and who could opt for more isolationist policies in the months to come.

Malian soldiers and former Tuareg rebels have staged their first joint patrol in northern Mali, a key step in a 2015 peace agreement meant to help calm a region under threat from multiple extremist and other armed groups, like reported by ap.org.

As helicopters with the U.N. peacekeeping mission hovered overhead last week, 50 men in distinctive blue turbans started to patrol the city of Gao, a target of attacks by Islamic extremists including one in January that killed 54.

The joint battalion of some 600 people is the first to formally combine Malian soldiers with the rebels from armed independent groups of the Azawad region that signed the peace deal. The patrols are aimed at “building confidence and curtailing insecurity in northern Mali pending the full restoration of state authority,” the spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, said Friday.

The new units face the challenge of securing the vast region and unearthing hidden extremists. They must also get along in the process, as the Tuaregs’ quest for autonomy has been a source of conflict for decades with the government.

“Today, it’s not a question of the Coordination of the Movements of Azawad (former Tuareg rebellion group) or the Malian army. We fight together all under the same flag: the green, the yellow and the red,” said Hassan Ag Ibrahim, a young Tuareg fighter who was patrolling on foot alongside a Malian soldier.

Northern Mali has been tense since 2012, when Islamic extremists linked to al-Qaida took over the region, exploiting a power vacuum after mutinous soldiers overthrew the president. French-backed forces pushed the extremists from strongholds the following year, but attacks have continued and have pushed further south. The U.N. mission in Mali is the deadliest active peacekeeping mission in the world.

More recently, extremists have issued statements threatening Tuareg and Arab families in northern Mali about participating in the new joint operation, and they have followed through on the threats.

On Jan. 18, a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a military camp in Gao, killing at least 54 people and injuring more than 100 others. A group linked to al-Qaida’s North Africa branch, al-Mourabitoun, claimed responsibility and warned of more to come to punish “all who were lured by France.”

But those backing the new joint patrol, and some residents of Gao, remain committed to the task.

Mohamed Maiga, a resident, said he hoped the joint patrol will bring peace.

“They must continue their patrols of this type so that terrorists and armed bandits stop attacks and robberies,” he said.

Addressing concerns about security risks in the joint patrols, Daniel Massamba, spokesman for the U.N. mission, said the former rebels “have been identified and investigated to be sure they are not members of an infiltrated jihadist group.”

Col. Rhissa Ag Sidi Mohammed, a Tuareg within the military and coordinator for the patrol, said the rebels who joined the force have received the necessary training.

Now that joint patrols have begun, they will spread to other areas. In the coming weeks, units will be deployed to Kidal and Taoudenit, according Col. Mohamed Ould Hassan, an officer and former Tuareg rebel.

In one of U.S. Africa Command’s largest exercises, a contingent of U.S. special operations forces is working alongside hundreds of troops in western Africa, a region threatened by the militant group Boko Haram, like reported by stripes.com .

Flintlock 2017, run by Special Operations Command Africa, kicked off Monday. Two thousand elite U.S., European and African troops are taking part in three weeks of rugged field training.

This year, Chad is serving as the main host for the exercises, which also involve training events in Cameroon, Niger, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.

Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc, who heads SOCAF, said the training is focused on helping partners coordinate a regional response to extremist threats such as Boko Haram, al-Qaida aligned groups and the Islamic State, which has emerged more recently in parts of Africa.

“These threats are a shared challenge we can only meet together,” Bolduc during the Flintlock opening ceremony in Chad. “We are stronger together. We work smarter together to be more effective together.”

For the nations situated around Nigeria, a key focus will be Boko Haram, which from northern Nigeria. The group has forced thousands from their homes, displacing refugees into neighboring states such as Niger, which in turn has become the target of attacks.

“Despite direct support from Chadian troops since 2015 and improved collaboration with the Nigerian army, Nigerian forces have been unable to put a stop to attacks by insurgents, some of whom have links to the Islamic State,” the International Crisis Group said in a report issued Monday.

Attacks by Boko Haram in Niger’s Diffa region have resulted in an extended state of emergency that has limited commercial activities and heightened social tensions in the area, the International Crisis Group said.

This year’s Flintlock is designed to improve coordination of military efforts to protect borders and guard against cross-border attacks. In recent years, western African nations have sought to establish closer military ties as a way to counter extremist groups. Tunisia, which borders Libya, has been concerned about the potential for local unrest as Islamic State fighters return from Iraq and Syria.

Bolduc said a key aspect of the training would be coordinating military elements with local police forces and other arms of government to ensure a unified response to threats.

“This year’s exercise is the most robust and diverse we have planned,” U.S. Army Col. Kelly Smith, commander of the Special Operations Command-Forward North and West Africa, said in a recent statement. “African partner nations have seen the value in this type of regional approach. Combating the spread of violent extremism and protecting the population requires the type of comprehensive, multinational approach Flintlock is designed to foster.”

While building up local forces is a key part of AFRICOM’s counterterrorism strategy on the continent, the military headquarters has also been building up its intelligence-gathering assets. In western Africa, AFRICOM operates out of a drone base in Niger, which provides surveillance capabilities, though so far strike operations have not been conducted.

In all, about 20 nations are taking part in Flintlock 2017, including numerous European nations such as Germany and Britain.