Before dawn broke on March 23, 2025, gunfire shattered the stillness of Fafi, a quiet town in Kenya’s Garissa County bordering Somalia. In a swift and brutal raid, heavily armed militants from the Somali-based extremist group Al-Shabaab launched a coordinated attack on a National Police Reservist (NPR) camp.
The ambush left six Kenyan officers dead and five others seriously injured, sending ripples of fear through local communities and reaffirming the continued threat posed by insurgent groups operating across East Africa’s porous borders.
The attack, later claimed by Al-Shabaab through its media arm, marks one of the deadliest cross-border incursions into Kenya since late 2023 and signals a disturbing shift in the group’s operational patterns.
Attack Breakdown: How the Assault Unfolded
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Time of attack: Approx. 5:30 AM (East Africa Time)
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Location: NPR camp, Fafi sub-county, Garissa County, Northeastern Kenya
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Method: Surprise raid involving direct fire, use of grenades, and tactical looting
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Casualties:
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Killed: 6 National Police Reservists
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Injured: 5 others, currently receiving treatment at Garissa General Hospital
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Damage: Weapons, radio communication equipment, and vehicles were stolen or destroyed
Militant Movement and Escape
Eyewitness reports and security briefings indicate that 15 to 20 insurgents crossed the Somalia-Kenya border in the early hours and retreated towards the border after the assault, using a known smuggling corridor near Hulugho, previously flagged in Kenya’s 2024 Border Risk Assessment Report.
Geopolitical Context: Why Garissa, Why Now?
Garissa, long considered a strategic security buffer, has been plagued by sporadic insurgent violence due to: 
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Proximity to Somalia’s Gedo Region, a known Al-Shabaab stronghold
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Sparse border surveillance, enabling militant movement undetected
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Weak community policing, especially in rural sub-counties like Fafi and Hulugho
Kenya has maintained troops in Somalia under the African Union Transition Mission (ATMIS), which has made it a recurring target of retaliation. Intelligence suggests this attack could be in response to recent Kenyan airstrikes on suspected Al-Shabaab positions inside Somalia’s Lower Juba.
Strategic Commentary – Emmanuel Kotin
“This attack is more than just a local tragedy—it is a calculated move in a broader regional chessboard,” says Emmanuel Kotin, Executive Director and Senior Security Analyst at the African Center for Counter Terrorism (ACCT).
“Al-Shabaab is signaling its continued relevance and capability despite internal splintering and drone strikes targeting its leadership. By hitting Kenya’s police reserves—one of its first-response defense layers—Al-Shabaab seeks to expose vulnerabilities and undermine public confidence in state protection.”
Kotin warned that Al-Shabaab may increasingly exploit unmanned terrain, weapon smuggling routes, and youth recruitment in economically vulnerable zones of northeastern Kenya.
