Kenyan authorities have arrested a Swedish man on suspicion of attempting to recruit young men for the al Shabab terrorist group.
According to reports, the man was arrested in the city of Kapsowar in western Kenya’s Rift Valley province on 28 March.
Sveriges Television (SVT) revealed that a security source informed them the man was a Swedish national of Somali origin. Nairobi police spokesman Arthur Osiya told SVT the man had now been transferred to Nairobi, adding that he had no further details at that time.
The Swedish Security Service (Sapo) revealed that 30 people had travelled from the Scandinavian country to Somalia since 2006 to join pro-Islamist groups.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry has yet to issue any details of the arrest, while the Swedish embassy in the Kenyan capital has been given no information about the man’s nationality or identity, with Kenyan authorities keeping them in the dark about the situation.
Al Shabab has been responsible for a number of deadly attacks in Kenya, with the group claiming it is retaliating to Kenyan military operations in Somalia. The Islamist sect has been forced back into the neighbouring country in recent years, although it controls large areas of the countryside, particularly in the southern regions of their spiritual homeland. It is estimated they have around 5,000 fighters in Somalia.