President William Ruto has blamed war and conflict in neighbouring countries for the rise in illicit firearms among pastoral communities.

Ruto says Kenya’s neighbouring countries continue to face various security challenges including war, armed conflict and civil strife.

Speaking in Embakasi, Nairobi County, when he presided over the Administration Police Pass Out Parade on Wednesday, the president said the situation has led to the collapse of law and order in various parts of the country.

“The cross-border spill-over of these crises have saddled our security sector with the burden of illicit firearms among civilian populations, sustaining banditry, cattle rustling and other threats to life, property, peace and security,” he said.

His statement came even as at least 12 African countries, including Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal and Cameroon are reported to be embroiled in war and conflicts.In the Democratic Republic of Congo, former President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Peace envoy to the Horn of Africa, is leading peace talks on the security situation in the country which has resulted in the loss of lives and displacement of thousands of civilians.

Ruto, however, reassured that Kenya would continue to seize every opportunity to restore peace and stability in affected countries and regions through peacekeeping deployments and robust diplomatic efforts.

“We shall not relent in this quest until our brothers and sisters in the Horn of Africa as well as East Africa enjoy peace, stability and prosperity” he said.

On runaway insecurity in the country, Ruto exuded optimism that law enforcement agencies would uphold professionalism in dealing with rampant cases of insecurity in the pastoralist communities.

He committed to escalate the police-to-citizen ratio by recruiting and training more policemen and women on a continuous basis in ensuring Kenyans have access to responsive and effective police protection.

 “The time has also come for us to decisively engage so as to eradicate banditry and cattle rustling within our borders. I am confident that our police services now have what it takes to execute this critical assignment,” he added.