Saleh said the suspects are tasked with paralysing transport on the main routes in Wajir and Elwak in Mandera and destroying communication facilities, especially mobile phone masts.


"These people must be captured or they must surrender. If that fails, we will carry out an operation to flush them out,” Saleh said.

He, however, urged the security team to work closely with chiefs, elders and residents to ensure al Shabaab is wiped out.
The administrator said it is a shame that government officials in Northeasternvspend 95 per cent of their working time dealing with insecurity issues.

"When the rest of Kenya is talking about development and investments, in Northeastern we are busy talking about al Shabaab,” he said.

35 SHABAAB RECRUITS

Saleh is on a five-day tour of Mandera and Wajir counties to acquaint himself with challenges security teams are facing in the fight against al Shaabab terrorists. He also met elders, women and the youth.

In Mandera, Saleh revealed the government has the names of 35 Kenyan youth recruited by al Shabaab. He said the details of their family members and wives are known.

Saleh warned the youth to surrender to the government. If they defy the order, he said the government will stop at nothing to ensure that they face the law.