Nine suspects believed to be members of a militia group have been arrested and seven rifles recovered in the Isiolo security operation.
The weapons included six AK-47 rifles, an FN firearm, 16 magazines, a pair of jungle police uniform and bullets.
The arrests took place on Wednesday in Kom, Merti subcounty, during a raid.
The month-long operation started on May 2 and will be extended to Sololo, where Oromo Liberation Front militias are suspected to be active.
So far almost two dozen arms have been recovered.
Officials said the operation is proving successful as few incidents of insecurity have been recorded in the past few days.
Police spokesman Bruno Shioso said the suspects are being interrogated and they hope to get more useful information on their operations.
The recovery came days after the government ordered an immediate ban on unlicensed mining in Kom.
The operation also targets criminals hiding in the mines.
Earlier, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i said the operation will run in tandem with disarmament targeting illegal guns and bullets.
He said the National Security Council launched 'Operation Rejesha Amani Marsabit' following incessant inter-ethnic attacks.
Matiang'i said the assailants defied peace initiatives, including the lapse of the 30-day window sought by county leaders to secure reconciliation.
“Recently our security forces intercepted a huge cache of explosives in Merti. Those explosives were meant for Nairobi. They were being moved by a terrorist cell and that route has become worrisome to all of us over the recent years," he said.
"I cannot count the number of times our police officers have disrupted planned terror activity that is being channelled through that route.”
The operation is being led by special forces drawn from the GSU, the Rapid Deployment Unit, the Quick Response Unit and the Anti-Stock Theft Unit.
They are also liaising with their Ethiopian counterparts across the border to apprehend fleeing criminals.
The animosity between the Borana and Gabra communities has progressively boiled over and Matiang’i has expressed concerns over political leaders who have frustrated previous attempts to pacify them.
The CS said rival groups have been armed and transformed into competitive political militias, meting out violence on innocent civilians.
He said the result is a costly security challenge.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
