Three border crossings between Kenya and Somalia, which have been closed for nearly 12 years, are set to be reopened this month, according to the Kenyan government.
The three locations – Bulahawa in Mandera County, Liboi in Garissa County, and Kiunga-Daresalam in Lamu County – were closed in 2011 during raids and attacks by Al -Shabaab.
Kenya’s Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki is scheduled to hold a meeting with his Somali counterpart, Mohamed Sheikh Doodishe, on Monday to discuss the plan to reopen the three border crossings.
The meeting will also be attended by the Minister of Defense of Kenya, Aden Barre Duale, and the envoy for Foreign Affairs of Kenya, Alfred Mutua, and his Somali counterpart.
This issue came after the inauguration of the border project between Somalia and Ethiopia in Mandera last week.
During the launch, the authorities promised to cooperate and deal with security issues in the region.
Officials from both countries will discuss how to address common security threats, border management, economic infrastructure, and trade facilitation.
Kindiki said the meeting will also focus on the necessary measures to ensure security before the borders are reopened.
In the past five years, there have been a series of attacks by Al-Shabaab fighters in North East Kenya.
In the deadliest attack, the Islamist extremist group killed nearly 150 people at Garissa University in 2015.
