Kenya hosts conference on countering IEDs

Kenya this week hosted over 70 stakeholders, across 21 countries at the Humanitarian Peace Support School in Embakasi for a conference on Countering Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

The conference, which is in its fourth edition, was graced by the UK’s Defence Attaché to Kenya Brigadier Ronnie Westerman, US Embassy Counter Terrorism Coordinator Marc Jackson and KDF Engineer Brigade Commander Swaleh Saidi.

It sought to better IED containment coordination across the continent.

IEDs, Brigadier Westerman said, are notably used by terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab to counter advances from defence forces that are fighting the militia group as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

“We congratulate Kenya and the Humanitarian Peace Support School for hosting this conference and to the participants for taking the time to collaborate. The UK will continue working closely alongside our allies to provide support to the much needed training and operational direction to deter the influence of Al-Shabaab,” Brigadier Westerman said.

Commander Saidi stated: "Improvised Explosive Devises (IEDs) attacks constitute 80% of terrorist attacks in the world. Terrorist actors have continued to employ IEDs in increasing numbers. The impact of IEDs in fragile states can thus not be underestimated.”

Since 2016, the British Peace Support Team (BPST) and KDF have trained more than 1,700 military and police personnel from 22 Troop Contributing Countries in detecting and disarming IEDs.

In February, BPST trained 15 officers from Anti-Terror Police Unit, Bomb Disposal Unit and Special Investigation Unit, about the technical employment of IEDs in order to carry out pre and post-blast blast investigation.