A four-wheel drive car belonging to a Mandera resident was Thursday, December 8 hijacked and robbed by al-Shabaab militants, police said.
The vehicle was rented by a local agency -Action Against Hunger- operating in Takaba for a medical campaign and was attacked between Elram and Falama areas south of Mandera.
This area is close to the Kenya-Somalia border.
The vehicle was hijacked with one occupant on board while transporting the measles vaccine to Falama health centre in Mandera South, police and locals said.
Health department official Mohamud Eda said the pick-up was on an outreach mission to the Falama facility before it was hijacked at about 8 am.
"The pick-up was hijacked while on its way to pick up health staff,” he said.
Other officials said the vehicle left Kotulo and was to transport measles vaccine and food supplements called plumpy nuts or Malado to Gesrebki Teno village of Falama Sublocation, Garsesala Location across all the facilities in the area ahead of a planned vaccination exercise that shall kick off Friday, December 9.
The driver who was on board the car is missing, police said.
The four gunmen struck and drove with the car and driver on board to Somalia direction, North Eastern regional police boss George Seda said.
Early last month, an ambulance belonging to the Mandera County government was carjacked along Lafey-Elwak road and the efforts to rescue it bore no fruits.
The four occupants of the ambulance were later released after spending two days in Somalia.
The area has been facing attacks and threats from the militants who are roaming there.
Such attacks are common and they are usually solved through dialogue and the use of elders in the area.
Elwak is near the Kenya-Somalia border and is usually breached by terrorists who attack at will.
The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by residents.
The terrorists at times plant explosives on the routes used by security agencies and attack them.
Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.
