A team of military engineers from Moray will stay in Kenya despite hundreds of British tourists being evacuated due to a terror alert.
The activities of militant group al-Shabaabh led the Foreign Office to yesterday advise against all non-essential travel to Mombassa, the east African country’s capital.
A group from 39 Engineer Regiment from Kinloss is currently in Kenya to help the local population.
This team has found itself unwittingly caught up in the situation.
How it was confirmed yesterday the personnel will not be joining more than 400 tourists in flying back to Britain early.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The engineers and other UK military personnel will be staying in Kenya. Nothing has changed.”
Details of where in Kenya the Kinloss personnel are stationed, or how long they intend to stay, have not been revealed.
However a spokesman for Kinloss Barracks confirmed that they were living and working in a remote location, adding that detachments had been travelling there for several years to help with engineering projects.
The spokesman said: “Elements of the regiment are deployed to Kenya as part of a long-standing regimental service.
“Kenya offers the regiment the opportunity to carry out engineering works in an austere environment with challenging logistics.
“The work they are undertaking involves the upgrading of infrastructure as well as providing some expertise to projects being developed to benefit the local community.”
A Foreign Office warning issued to travellers said: “There is a high threat from terrorism, including kidnapping.
“The main threat comes from extremists linked to al-Shabaab, a militant group.
“There has been a spate of small-scale grenade, bomb and armed attacks in Nairobi, Mombasa, and North Eastern Province.”
The attacks are said to be in response to Kenya’s military intervention in the affairs of its Islamic neighbour Somalia.
As a result of the Foreign Office warning Thomson and First Choice yesterday cancelled all outbound flights to Mombasa until the end of October