{"id":23702,"date":"2026-02-13T05:26:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T03:26:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers\/channelafrica\/news\/kenya-to-reopen-somalia-border-after-15-years-amid-tight-security-measures\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:34:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:34:28","slug":"kenya-to-reopen-somalia-border-after-15-years-amid-tight-security-measures","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/kenya-to-reopen-somalia-border-after-15-years-amid-tight-security-measures\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenya to reopen Somalia border after 15 years amid tight security measures"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Kenya\u2019s long-closed border with Somalia is set to reopen in April, ending a 15-year shutdown that followed repeated attacks by militant group al\u2011Shabab.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The decision was announced by President William Ruto, who said two border crossings will resume operations after what he described as extensive security assessments. A significant military presence will be deployed in the area to guard against future threats.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The border, which stretches across remote and often difficult terrain, has been largely sealed since a wave of al-Shabab attacks prompted Kenyan authorities to prioritise national security over cross-border movement.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ruto said the reopening is aimed at restoring vital economic and social ties between communities on both sides of the frontier, particularly to boost cross-border trade.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Addressing residents in Mandera, the Ruto urged local communities to work closely with security forces in efforts to counter al-Shabab activities and maintain stability in the region.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Concerns over smuggling and illegal crossings also factored into the government\u2019s decision, with officials indicating that tighter monitoring systems will be in place once the crossings reopen.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Kenya had previously launched a perimeter barrier project along sections of the border to curb infiltration, but the project stalled after limited progress.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;ChannelAfrica\/Reuters&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":16069,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-23702","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Kenya\u2019s long-closed border with Somalia is set to reopen in April","published_date":"2026-02-13 07:15:42","news_description":"Kenya\u2019s long-closed border with Somalia is set to reopen in April","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/23702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/23702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26593,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/23702\/revisions\/26593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=23702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}