REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NAIROBI -- The Kenyan government has lifted ban on 13 Somalia-linked money transfer firms after more than two months' suspension over threats from Somalia-based militant group Al-Shabaab.

The ban was imposed in early April to prevent Al-Shabaab from using them to finance attacks, following the massacre of 148 people by the group's gunmen at an university in Garissa county.

One of the affected firms, Dahabshiil Kenya, confirmed on Monday that the Central Bank of Kenya has unbanned their services.

"We are pleased to announce that our services have resumed fully," Dahabshiil Kenya Director, Ahmed Elmi, said in a statement issued in the capital Nairobi.

Elmi said the authorities had carried out a comprehensive review of the firm's operation in Kenya.

"They are satisfied that the company complies fully with the law, and operates strict anti-money laundering and counter- terrorism financing practices," he said.

The firm operates in more than 100 countries across the world including Britain and the United States, according to its CEO, Abdirashid Duale.

Every year, Somalis living abroad use these firms to send around 1.3 billion U.S. dollars to their families and friends back in Somalia, where the banking sector is almost nonexistent. The money represents 24 to 45 percent of Somalia's Gross Domestic Product.

"Our services provide a vital lifeline for (Somali) people to feed, educate and otherwise help their families and loved ones, and to run businesses, thus creating jobs. We are also pleased we can resume working with the many international organizations who use our services to support vital humanitarian and development programs," Duale said.

Kenya has witness a series of Al-Shabaab raids, especially in its coastal and northeastern regions, since its troops entered Somalia to take on the militants in 2011.

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