Kenya military troops head for Liboi, near the border with Somalia, last week.

1.Is our military up to this task or have they been “fattening” in the barracks?

2.Where does Kenya’s ethnic Somali community fit into the equation?


A country is like a three-legged stool. The three crucial legs are the military, the economy and the body politic in its entirety (sovereignty, geographical, strategic importance).

Without any of three ‘legs’ a country cannot stand. The military is usually referred to as a ‘state within a state’.

Kenyan military training is heavily based on the British and American systems and is therefore world class.
Very few countries in Africa have achieved these standards, especially being 100 per cent manoeuvre compliant (modern warfare ready).

The troops are therefore expected to put the training into practice and adapt swiftly to any situation.
People see the several potbellied soldiers, who almost entirely are non-combatants, and assume all soldiers are like that.
They should know that the fighting units, commonly referred to as the ‘Teeth Arms’, are physically very fit.

And a delicate element of ‘Operation Linda Nchi’ is the fact that Kenya has its own Somali community that shares many things in common with their cousins across the border.
The Kenyan Somali community will be pivotal to winning this campaign against Al-Shabaab.

While it has a few bad eggs that help sustain the groups network and finances in Kenya, many of them are patriotic, sensitised and incorporated in this fight.
This operation has nothing to do with the Kenyan Somali community or Islam as a Religion; it is a war against a terror.
After all, the community will be the greatest beneficiary of a pacified Somalia Republic.

^^ lol I know what the bolded means.A bit of an exaggeration I guess but my understanding is they are properly trained/equipped for war.
That doesn't make them the best in the world.

The face of a happy elshabaab terrorist.  


The self-confessed member of terror group Al Shabaab, Elgiva Bwire alias Mohamed Seif has been jailed for life.

Nairobi Principal Magistrate, Grace Macharia handed down the sentence to Oliacha after he admitted causing grievous harm

He pleaded guilty to six charges of being in possession of firearms, hand grenades and ammunition, was sentenced to another seven years. However, he will serve life imprisonment.

Soon after the magistrate left, the Al Shabaab member, who broke in laughter and broad smiles after being sentenced, said he was happy and had no regrets.

When asked why he was happy, he responded that he was just happy. He added by saying he was actually happier.

I think a mental institution would have been a better place for him

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/

Somalia split over hunt for Al Shabaab

American and European officials on Tuesday joined some Somali residents in expressing dismay over comments from Somalia’s president that called on foreign military allies to stop twin advances against Islamic insurgents.

The remarks called into question President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed’s commitment to fighting his former allies — Islamist militants.

A US official said there was concern and dismay over Ahmed’s comments. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the press.

The US and the EU are the two biggest financial contributors to the AU mission. Neither is directly financially supporting the Kenyan operation, although Kenya receives military aid from both powers.
On Wednesday, Ahlusunna Waljama (AWSJ), another group sympathetic to Kenya released a press statement condemning President Ahmed and the "extremist ideologies of Al Shabaab and affiliate Wahabi groups".

The group said its militia had fought to free central Somalia from Al Shabaab "atrocities" for over three years.

The group said President Ahmed had exposed his sympathy for Al Shabaab on several occasions when he failed to condemn the Al Qaeda linked militant’s atrocities.

"The efforts and strides made by Kenya Defence Forces are well in accordance with what we the people of Somalia want. The comment and utterances by Al Shabaab and its sympathisers should not deter them from their ultimate goal of bringing peace in the region," said AWSJ.

AWSJ said Kenya was forced to intervene in Somalia because Al Shabaab threatened its sovereignty and stability.

In Dhobley, the residents said most Somalis want Al Shabaab’s hold on their country destroyed.

"We thank Kenyan Government for it’s working together with Somali Transitional Federal Government to stabilise Somalia and for training Somali soldiers as well as hosting Somali refugees," said the Ministry of Information statement forwarded to newsrooms on Wednesday.

"In fact, the people of Somalia as well as many of friends in the region, including Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia have suffered at the hands of Al Shabaab from their violence. We all share the need to defeat and destroy Al Shabaab. No one wants to see demise of Al Shabaab more than the people of Somalia," it noted.

It seems the international community is trying to get Burundi to pull out. I keep seeing stories about burundians being killed and how heavy a toll this war is for them. I think they will want Kenya to stay in Somalia for a long time.

There can be no dialogue with terrorists without a cause

There is really nothing for Kenya to negotiate with the Al Shabaab. Nobody negotiates with a shadowy terrorist movement that has no cause,

The Al Shabaab gangsters have constituted themselves as a youth movement that is ostensibly fighting the enemies of Islam. At the same time, they claim that they wish to liberate the failed State of Somalia against foreigners. They do not recognise the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia. They accuse it to be a puppet regime installed by the African Union (AU) and Nato. They think that they have a mission to overthrow the TFG and cast out the Ugandan and Burundi AU peacekeepers.

The more than 14,000 strongman Al Shabaab is a hotchpotch of youth from a wide range of nationalities. If one of their missions is to liberate Somalia from foreigners, then the logic of their mission kills itself. The irony is stark. How do foreigners liberate a foreign country against foreigners?

But at no time has Kenya pretended to be liberating Somalia from Al Shabaab. Each sovereign power has the duty to contain its criminal elements and lock them up where they ought to be. In the event that these thugs are uncontained and do the sort of things Al Shabaab has been doing in Kenya, then Kenya must defend herself. If the defence means Kenyan troops have crossed into Somalia, so be it.

But it does not end there. The Al Shabaab are not the kind of gangsters who run away and leave you alone, when subdued. They will try to regroup and to find new safe havens. They will return. Without stable government in Somalia, Kenya must secure areas freed from Al Shabaab, until such a time that there is a local Government that can contain Al Shabaab.

Meanwhile there can be no dialogue with these gangsters. For how did we wrong them, in the first place? What issue are we to negotiate with them? Foreigners bombed us at the Norfolk Hotel on New Year’s Eve in 1980. They bombed us again in August 1998 and in 1992. We had done nothing. They now think our country is a plaything for international terrorists. They kill our people like flies and kidnap our visitors at will. They hijack ships in our waters and bomb us as they did again this week. This is despite our hospitality to Somali refugees for the past two decades. It has got to stop. No nation, no matter how weak, should accept this kind of aggression.

If ever there was a time to demonstrate national solidarity and patriotism, it is now. We cannot separate ourselves from our Government and from our country. We cannot second-guess our troops and ask such asinine questions such as whether they are equal to the task. When your country wages war against terrorists, you do well to know that you are at war. These thugs do not know the difference between the military and civilians. To them, civilians are not only military targets; they are also battlegrounds and weapons of war.

With or without our troops engaging the terrorists, they will kill you in the streets. So long as you are Kenyan, you are part of this war.

US denies Al-Shabaab role



The United States has denied involvement in the ongoing operation against Somalia's Al-Shabaab terror group.

US ambassador to Kenya Major General (rtd) Scott Gration said Friday his country was only assisting Kenya in ensuring internal stability.

“We don’t have military operation outside the border of Kenya,” the envoy said during a news conference at the Department of Defence headquarters.

Mr Gration who once served as an instructor at Kenya Airforce denied reports that the US was assisting Kenya in the operation against Al-Shabaab.

“We have been providing our assistance in an overt way through the Kenya Navy, Army and Air Force for long time and we will continue. We are not in Somalia. Our support is through equipment,” the ambassador said.

He said the US was ready to give Kenya more equipment if it wants.

Push to take Kismayu ‘is on course


A Kenya Army jeep at the Ishakani border point in Kiunga as it heads for the battlefront in Somalia on October 27, 2011.

Another town falls to Kenyan military

An Al-Shabaab training centre in Burgabo, a village deep within southern Somalia, was bombed and captured by Kenya’s and Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government forces
The Thursday evening operation came hours after the troops killed nine Al-Shabaab militants during an ambush at Anole in which two Kenyan soldiers were injured.

Sources within the military and security agencies told the Nation that the number of casualties was not immediately established.

The training centre was bombed several times before ground troops moved in to secure the area and set up base, ready for onward march.

According to an anonymous source, Burgabo was the third Al-Shabaab training centre to have come under the forces air strikes.

Conquering this town was a key objective of the Kenyan forces as it would serve as a launching pad for an onslaught on the port city of Kismayu, which is the hub of the terror group’s activities.

Kismayu is a smugglers’ haven and the revenues from it have funded terror groups and the warlords who have kept Somalia at war for 20 years

Okay we continue praying for you.

Inside Al-Shabaab network in Kenya

Hundreds of Kenyan youth have been recruited into Al Shabaab over the last six years in a process that has complicated efforts to tackle extremism in the region and which the government is now urgently seeking to reverse
How Al Shabaab came to enlist so many Kenyans is described in vivid terms by a leaked US cable seen by the Sunday Nation, which detailed the activities of a network of recruiters who exploited youth unemployment and the lure of easy money to net hundreds of young men.

The cable dated July 6, 2009 titled, “A Portrait of Al Shabaab Recruitment in Kenya,” named Eastleigh, North Eastern Province and Isiolo as some of the areas where Kenyans were enrolled to the militia group in their dozens.
Some limited recruitment also occurred in Dadaab refugee camp. Mombasa has also been named as a recruitment hub.
Kenya’s proximity to Somalia was cited as one of the reasons the country was a fruitful source for recruiting young men to join the extremist group.

The other reasons are Kenya’s sizeable population of ethnic Somalis.It noted that Kenya’s ethnic Somali population suffers from lower levels of development and education than other Kenyans.

“Idle, unemployed youth are at particular risk. The continuing legacy of the Shifta wars in the 1960s, certainly a contributing factor to Kenyan Somalis’ lower level of development, also leaves them feeling like outsiders in their country of birth,” the cable said.
According to the US cable, one of the biggest drivers of Al Shabaab recruitment was the entry into Kenya of radical Islamists from the Gulf states.

“These Wahhabist clerics may have direct links with radical mosques in Eastleigh, and may be acting as recruitment agents for extremist groups in Somalia,” it said.
The cable said that as the battle in Somalia became more clan-based and Somalis increasingly joined clan-based militias instead of Al-Shabaab, the militia has increasingly seen the need to recruit foreign fighters.

Tanzania backs Kenya on war against Al Shabaab

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has supported Kenya’s decision to invoke Article 51 of the United Nations Charter to defend its economic and security interests against Al Shaabab insurgents.

President Kikwete said Kenya is justified in taking action against the militants who have blatantly violated its territorial integrity through escalated cross-border raids.

He pledged his country’s commitment to support efforts by Kenya, Igad, East African Community, African Union and the international community to stabilise the entire Horn of Africa.

The Tanzanian leader, who is in Perth, Australia, for the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit, was speaking when he paid a courtesy call on President Kibaki at his hotel.

The Tanzanian leader, at the same time, joined other world leaders in calling for tougher action against piracy in the Indian Ocean, which increases the costs of international trade.

Earlier, at a forum on Indian Ocean Piracy held on the sidelines of the summit, participants observed that piracy is rife off the coast of Somalia, and is spreading to other regions around Africa.

The leaders noted that pirates attacked a record number of ships worldwide in the first nine months of this year, but are taking off with fewer vessels due to better policing.

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke

WHAT NEXT FOR A LIBERATED SOMALIA?



For over two decades, the international community has chosen piecemeal tactics to deal with Somalia. Kenya has tacitly played along, diligently attending the almost monthly international meetings on Somalia and numerous peace negotiations.

One almost loses track of the various agreements signed by Somalis to end violence, all named after Africa’s cities where they have taken place – Sodere Agreement, Cairo Agreement, Addis Ababa Agreement, Arta Agreement, Nairobi Conference, Djibouti Agreement, Kampala Accord – just to name a few, yet peace has proven elusive.

In a marked departure from its history, instead of hosting another Somalia Conference, Kenya was this month forced to make the difficult decision of deploying its troops to Somalia to defend its national security. This historical decision will remain a milestone. Operation Linda Nchi has so far received national applause. Kenyans are fed up by what they see as perceptions from the Al Shabaab of Kenya’s military incapacity to respond even to direct attacks in its hinterland.

With an economy that depends on tourism, Al Shabaab made the wrong decision in targeting tourists in Lamu, and humanitarian workers in Dadaab. Kenyan military personnel have frequently been killed or harmed in Al Shabaab ambushes.

I believe that the international community has given a covert nod to Kenya’s efforts. The Igad Council of Ministers held an extraordinary meeting on October 21 and adopted a communiquÈ expressing support for the Kenya’s operation.

Somalia needs to be pressured to do what any government does – to govern. President Sheikh Sharif needs to rid himself of the Al Sheikh extremists around him that are making it difficult for him to bring real reconciliation to Somalia. He must rise up to be a statesman and bridge clan differences. PM Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has stated clear priorities for his government; it is now time to deliver. As Kenya engages in Somalia, we must be aware that this engagement preemptively includes insurgency, counterinsurgency, and propaganda.

We must be steadfast and clear in our strategic objectives and provide an exit strategy. This may include a three-pronged approach.

Firstly, we must proceed on the military front by suffocating the Al Shabaab from Kismayu to Mogadishu. Secondly, we must endeavor to implement the proposals of the UN Secretary General, Igad and the African Union on counter-piracy efforts. Thirdly, Kenya must realise that logistical support is needed urgently to sustain and consolidate current gains, including in the region of south central Somalia and a liberated Kismayu port. Peace and security must be a priority for the population to feel secure.

The French link in the Somali war: Sarkozy extends sphere of influence in Anglophone Africa


What is French President Nicolas Sarkozy up to in Africa?

This is the question analysts are asking following the announcement by Paris last week that it would ferry supplies to Kenyan troops fighting Islamist militias in Somalia.

The French recently stepped up operations against Al Qaeda in North Africa after French citizens were kidnapped by the jihadists.

This year alone, France has led military interventions in Libya and Ivory Coast, being the first country to recognise the Libyan rebels and to launch air strikes against the late Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

However, France’s visible role in supporting Kenya’s military action against Al Shabaab is a significant departure, signalling the country’s ambition to expand its sphere of influence to the greater East and Horn of Africa region.

Last month, French oil multinational Total announced it had acquired stakes in key blocks off the coast of Lamu, strengthening a comeback by giant firms eyeing opportunities in Kenya’s oil exploration business.

Speculation is rife that France, like the other Nato allies who helped overthrow Gaddafi, will be expecting payback from Libya’s new regime in the form of lucrative business contracts and in reconstructing the country.

It is also said to be keen on preserving lucrative oil deals made under the former regime.

Meanwhile, African Intelligence, a continental news service, reported in April that Paris was in negotiations with Nairobi to sell it the La Rieuse series of patrol boats, for the Kenyan navy to use to fight piracy on the waters of the Indian Ocean.

“This boat became surplus to requirements after the restructuring of the French armed forces. The contract has not yet been signed, but the French ambassador to Nairobi Etiene de Poncins accompanied by embassy defence attaché Colonel Henri Leblanc met the Kenyan Minister for Defence on March 16 to push the matter forward,” the news service reported.

To further fuel the thinking that Mr Sarkozy is keen to increase France’s sphere of influence in Africa and especially in East Africa, more Paris based multinationals are setting up shop in the region and his government has increased funding to key development projects.

Paris, not content with Francophone Africa, has been aggressively spreading its activities to English-speaking countries, with South Africa and Kenya the primary targets.

Over the past five years, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and recently Rwanda have been recipients of French investments, especially in the energy sector, while trade has surged and France has entered into a host of military agreements, defence pacts and bases around the continent.

Sarkozy’s address to the 16th African Union Summit in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa on January 30 this year was unequivocal about France’s future engagement with Africa. “We’re not as far apart as is believed. Yes, there was colonisation, yes, there are disagreements, but today, geography brings us together. If we want to control migration flows and combat terrorism, we must help you succeed in your economic development. France is convinced of this reality,” said Mr Sarkozy.+

Statistics show trade between Kenya and France grew by at least 10 per cent, with official development body Agence Française de Developpement giving the country $124 million –– 27 per cent of all development aid last year.

French companies such as France Telecom and oil major Total are already major players in the Kenyan economy.

According to the Economic Survey 2010, the value of exports from Kenya to France rose to $49.9 million in 2009, from $45 million in 2006, while imports surged to $186.5 million from $124.5 million during the same period.

“While most of the world’s leading economies such as the US, Britain and China have been diversifying their interests in East Africa, France has recently come on board and Paris seems to have renewed its push to strengthen ties with the region,” said Prof Macharia Munene, who teaches international relations at the United States International University, Nairobi.
In April, the French government through the Agence Francaise de Developpement offered Nairobi a concessional loan of 56 million euros ($78.96 million) to be used to procure two geothermal drilling rigs and prepare a national power generation and transmission master plan.

The agency has provided similar funding to Uganda and Tanzania for investment in renewable energy under its regional technical assistance programme.

Meanwhile, three years after Kigali severed diplomatic ties with France, the Rwandan embassy in Paris was officially reopened in March. Last month, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame visited Paris in what was largely seen as a fence-mending mission with France.

In November 2006, the Cabinet had decided to cut diplomatic ties with France when French judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere issued arrest warrants against nine Rwandan officials.

In May, the French development agency said it planned to double its financial commitment to Tanzania to $150 million from the current $70 million annually.

Okay I hear you sarkozy.

ERITREA ARMING ELSHABAAB 

The possible role of Eritrea in supporting Al Shabaab insurgents has come into sharp focus after the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) confirmed that two aircraft landed in Baidoa with a consignment of arms for the rebels.

Although KDF did not name the origin of the aircraft, chatter on many Somali Internet sites, quoting Al Shabaab, said they were Eritrean.
Eritrea has been accused of pouring flames on the conflict in Somalia by flying in weapons and explosives to the militants using the airstrip in Baidoa, a town controlled by the militants.

Kenyan troops fighting Al-Shabaab inside Somalia have placed 10 towns under surveillance after the militants apparently brought in a consignment of arms for retaliatory attacks.

During the invasion of Somalia by Ethiopia, Eritrea harboured leaders of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and its military wing, now Al Shabaab, and was accused by the United Nations of supplying them with weapons to fight a proxy war against Ethiopia.

On Tuesday, a member of Somalia’s Parliament, Mr Mahamud Abdulla, told a Somali news agency website that he witnessed over 10 vehicles from Baidoa airstrip enter a building in the area over the weekend.

He said Al Shabaab informants told him the weapons included heavy artillery and explosives.

Flushing out al Shabaab militants can’t be achieved by knee-jerk reaction

Qualitatively, the Kenyan military is far much more superior to other East and Central African militaries. However, the fight against Al Shabaab is a very risky mission.

The Kenyan Army, with its aviation wing, light and heavy armour, can push deep into Somali and secure all areas suitable for militia bases like water points, villages and towns near the Kenyan border.

The Kenyan Navy is the only truly sea-going navy along the Eastern Africa coast, not considering the world-class South African fleet. It can therefore effectively blockade the Somali coast bordering Kenya up to 100 nautical miles into the Somali territory without much effort.

COST OF SOMALI PIRACY RANSOMS

                      Average ransom (usd)             Total No. of successful hijackings     Cost of Ransoms(usd)

2009                   3.4 m                                                  52                                         177 m
2010                   5.4 m                                                  44                                         238 m

Total cost of ransoms btw 2009/2010 = usd 415 m

How it affects you
Shipping lines increase their rates. Insurance companies increase their premiums and this translates to increase in price of products.

1. War risk insurance
2. Kidnap and ransom ins.
3. Cargo ins.
4. Hull ins. to cover for damage to vessel

Cost of re routing


Most shipping companies have diverted their fleet preferring to use a longer but safer route. This brings about delays in Cargo arrival at destination ports and increase in charges as well.

Spirits high as Kenya Navy kills 18 Shabaab

The Kenya Navy has sunk a boat filled with 18 suspected Al Shabaab militants as the Kenya Defence Forces say they are confident of winning looming epic battles in Kismayu and Afmadow, despite the insurgents’ rearmament and reinforcements in both towns.

"Let them bring as much [arms] as they can and we are going to reduce them as much as we can," said Military Spokesperson Major Emmanuel Chirchir Thursday. He provided a video clip of the burning boat in the Indian Ocean and said the militia has now turned to using donkeys to ferry weapons.

Major Chirchir warned that "any large concentration and movement of loaded donkeys will be considered as Al Shabaab activity" by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

The militants are commandeering donkeys in areas they control and the price of the animals has risen by $50 dollars to $200 dollars per donkey. Major Chirchir said Kenyan troops would dominate the coming battles despite the three planeloads of arms sourced by Al Shabaab this week.

He said an aircraft that overflew KDF and Somalia Transitional Federal (TFG) soldiers would be shot down if seen again and warned the owners that it was "a security violation." All aircraft have also been advised not to land in Baidoa.
More KDF and TFG soldiers have been dispatched for Afmadow and Kismayu, for what is shaping up to be one of the decisive battles of ‘Operation Linda Nchi’.

So far, Kenya enjoys aerial superiority over most of southern and central Somalia, after relentlessly bombing known hideouts of the militants, whose leaders also fear attacks by unmanned US drone aircraft known as Reapers from the new CIA base at Arba Minch in Ethiopia, as well the US Africa Command in Djibouti.

The unmanned craft can fly 1,850km, conduct missions and return to base. The aircraft has in the recent past killed several Al Shabaab leaders on a US Federal Bureau of Investigation watch list, though the US has been public about it not being part of the current operation.

Flow of arms

"We will soon deliver on disrupting that flow of arms, and we will ensure they are not effective," said Major Chirchir, in a message posted on Twitter yesterday.
Al Shabaab is taking the aerial threat from Kenya’s Airforce so seriously that it is reinforcing its defences in Kismayu.

Reports from the strategic port city say the insurgents are mounting anti-aircraft guns on rooftops and digging trenches around the town. "They have put their weapons over us. Every high house in the city is a defence for al Shabaab," said Fatuma Ali, a resident in Kismayu who lives next to the rebels’ military base. "Since Kenya mentioned the 10 towns, Al Shabaab have been readying all their weapons and small arms," she said.

"They gave arms to people and they’re telling them to stay and defend the country from foreigners," said a resident Amina Mahmoud. "They said yesterday evening: ‘Everyone of you who dies here is a mujahideen and will enter paradise’." oh poor citizens

The terrorists have also been giving arms to students from Kismayu University to defend the southern Somali port from the expected onslaught by Kenya’s military.

Other sources told The Standard that more KDF troops have been dispatched to Somalia to form a buffer zone on already identified areas, before the full scale attacks on Afmadow and Kismayu begin.

"We are going to enjoy freedom of action in Somalia for a long time in areas where our troops are," said Major Chirchir, noting that despite the three aircraft that landed with weapons for the Al-Qaeda linked terrorists, supplies to the insurgents have been severely limited. "We will reduce any threats that they might imagine they can deliver to our troops to a level that they won’t be able to function as a coherent force," he said.

He noted: "We know that Al Shabaab is running low in terms of military hardware. We have managed to considerably reduce their effectiveness, so what they are doing now is trying to build up (numbers) and target these towns. We want to reduce their effectiveness completely." On Tuesday, the military spokesman warned residents of at least 10 towns to beware of an imminent assault targeting Al Shabaab fighters and armaments.

"It is a warning we have issued because we intend to hit these targets. These are places we know there are Al Shabaab and it is the same areas where the arms have been dropped. We will continue tracking them," said Major Chirchir.


Psychological Battle

Initially, the Shabaab believed guerrilla tactics like ambushing military convoys would be effective, but are now also fighting a psychological battle.
The militants are preventing civilians in many of the towns targeted by KDF and TFG forces from leaving by promising them paradise in heaven should they be killed during the battles." They’ve refused to let us out, and we don’t have any money to leave," said Ali. Residents in Afmadow said Al Shabaab had also ordered them to stay at home.

As Kenyan and Somali forces prepare to confront Al Shabaab in Afmadow and Kismayu, Uganda is adding weight to the diplomatic offensive. Somalia’s President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed is due to leave Uganda today where he has been meeting President Museveni over the offensive. The US has reacted cautiously to an appeal by Kenya and Somalia for international support to impose a blockade on Kismayu.

The US State Department said the blockade must be supported by the African Union and the UN Security Council, and should avoid making the humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa nation worse.


Flushing them out. mh how I wish I was the pilot in here.

Al-shabaab tries to hit back at Kenya

Al-Shabaab launched two abortive attacks against Kenya’s security forces in towns along the border as they unsuccessfully sought to fight back.

A time bomb planted by the roadside exploded at around 10.30 a.m. on Saturday in Hagardera patrol base within Lagdera division of Garissa County but no one was injured.

Police suspect it was aimed at a police vehicle that was to use that road but it exploded a few minutes before the vehicle reached there.

Meanwhile, the military announced that they repulsed a boat carrying suspected Al-Shabaab militants that got into the Kenyan waters yesterday morning.
The boat from Somalia was challenged to stop but the occupants started firing at the military personnel. The navy officers shot back and the boat sped towards the Somali waters.

“Meanwhile, the border remains closed and fishing is not allowed,” he said, adding that the Navy was doing everything possible to ensure the waters were secure.

The General tasked with wiping out Al-Shabaab



Maj-Gen Leonard (centre) greets US Marine Lt-Col Steve Nichols (left), at Camp Lonestar during Natural Fire, the largest combined exercise between Eastern African community nations and the United States.
A military general famed for revamping Kenya’s peacekeeping efforts in Sierra Leone, among other heroics, is leading the war against Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
Major-General Leonard a special forces officer described by colleagues as brilliant and a strategist, has been given the task of ridding the country of the menace caused by the militant group blamed for fanning insecurity in the Horn of Africa.

Eritrea protests against Kenya threats

President Isaias Afwerki's Eritrean state has been accused of sponsoring Al Shabaab, a Somali militant group associated with the Al Qaeda terror network. Kibaki’s sentiments underline concern about the threat posed to Kenya’s security by Al Shabaab.

Eritrea has protested at the threats by Kenya to review ties, intensifying the diplomatic row between the two countries ahead of a much-anticipated meeting of their foreign ministers.

A statement from the Eritrean foreign ministry dated November 5 described as "regrettable" Kenya’s implied warning that Nairobi will view the alleged arming of Al-Shabaab by Asmara in a very serious light.

IS PROPERLY DONE WILL EASE THE REFUGEE LOAD IN KENYA. WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT THE NEW GOVERNMENT TAKES AS MANY OF THE SOMALI REFUGEES AS CAN BE POSSIBLE. WHILE THE BOARDER REMAINS CLOSED, WE SHOULD AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME REPATRIATE THOSE SOMALI WHO WANT TO BE THE EYES OF OUR TWO GOVERNMENTS TO SOUTHERN SOMALIA.


LET US ESTABLISH SETTLEMENTS FOR THEM IN KISIMAYU AND LET THEM BEGIN PRODUCTIVE BUSINESS. AS THEY SETTLE HERE WE MUST MAKE SURE THE TRANSITIONAL SOMALI GOVERNMENT FORCE IS FULLY STRONGER IN KISIMAYU BEFORE LEAVING THE AREA. AN AFRICAN FORCE, ALONG WITH THE SOMALI FORCE SHOULD MONITOR THE 100 OCEAN WATERS.
THE FRENCH, THE BRITISH, THE AMERICAN, AND THE KENYA NAVAL FORCES SHOULD FOREVER GUARD THE TERRITORIAL WATERS OF THE EAST COAST. MAKING PIRACY A THING OF THE PAST. WE MUST DEAL WITH THEM NOW
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Re: Ocampo/hague Kenya Case
« #345 on: Today at 10:18:02 PM »

To our western allies, we need you now than ever before. Whether we sink or sink we must work together. I think we must work to eliminate the Alshabaab rogues from the face of Africa. Each Africa nation must ride itself of the insurgent groups. WE MUST DESTROY THEM ON LAND, UNDERSEA , ABOVE THE OCEAN, AND IN THE AIR SPACE.

kENYA, FORCES MUST FIGHT THESE ROGUES SYSTEMATICALLY.

To our western allies, we need you now than ever before. Whether we sink or sink we must work together. I think we must work to eliminate the Alshabaab rogues from the face of Africa. Each Africa nation must ride itself of the insurgent groups. WE MUST DESTROY THEM ON LAND, UNDERSEA , ABOVE THE OCEAN, AND IN THE AIR SPACE.

kENYA, FORCES MUST FIGHT THESE ROGUES SYSTEMATICALLY.

Dude, why would u want international forces outside of ur waters? That's silly.

^^ I dont even know what hes all about. He seems to harbour the slave mentality. Kenya went out without foreign support.
The foreign forces came in later to offer logistical support .They are protecting their own interests.The US army have a base at Djibouti.So they are all over
France navy ships have been on the waters for a long time because of piracy. Now the whole world is offering support.
_{I seriously hope this dude if okay.I dont know why i feel otherwise.}

^^^^

Lol u never know pendo. My favorite line is:


"Whether we sink or sink we must work together"

He's very optimistic!

BlackLibya:

^^^^

Lol u never know pendo. My favorite line is:


"Whether we sink or sink we must work together"

He's very optimistic!

I don't know what to add. I dont know whether to get at the style of posting or the posts themselves.!!

Whether "we sink or swim" we will, together

KENYA NAVY SHOULD ESCALATE THE SINKING OF THE ALSHAAB BOATS. KENYANS WHO ABUSE OUR ILANI, SHOULD SINK WITH THE ALSHAABAB. THE COASTAL KENYA PEOPLE SHOULD NEVER GO TO THE OCEAN FOR FISHING AT ALL.

THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA SHOULD SUPPORT OUR TRUE KENYAN FISHERMEN, BY GIVING THEM A CHEQUE WORTH THEIR TROUBLE AT SEE UNTIL THE WAR ENDS. WE SHOULD NOT BE GIVING FOOD TO THE REBELS IN SOMALIA AND KILLING OUR OWN GENUINE FISHERMEN WITH KENYA LICENSES.

KENYA NAVY SHOULD ESCALATE THE SINKING OF THE ALSHAAB BOATS. KENYANS WHO ABUSE OUR ILANI, SHOULD SINK WITH THE ALSHAABAB. THE COASTAL KENYA PEOPLE SHOULD NEVER GO TO THE OCEAN FOR FISHING AT ALL.

THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA SHOULD SUPPORT OUR TRUE KENYAN FISHERMEN, BY GIVING THEM A CHEQUE WORTH THEIR TROUBLE AT SEE UNTIL THE WAR ENDS. WE SHOULD NOT BE GIVING FOOD TO THE REBELS IN SOMALIA AND KILLING OUR OWN GENUINE FISHERMEN WITH KENYA LICENSES

KENYA NAVY SHOULD ESCALATE THE SINKING OF THE ALSHAAB BOATS. KENYANS WHO ABUSE OUR ILANI, SHOULD SINK WITH THE ALSHAABAB. THE COASTAL KENYA PEOPLE SHOULD NEVER GO TO THE OCEAN FOR FISHING AT ALL.

THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA SHOULD SUPPORT OUR TRUE KENYAN FISHERMEN, BY GIVING THEM A CHEQUE WORTH THEIR TROUBLE AT SEE UNTIL THE WAR ENDS. WE SHOULD NOT BE GIVING FOOD TO THE REBELS IN SOMALIA AND KILLING OUR OWN GENUINE FISHERMEN WITH KENYA LICENSES

^^
ARE YOU REALLY OKAY??
I think u seriously need help. PSYCHOLOGICAL TO BE PRECISE
And I mean it. Its getting out of hand.

War: Forces kill 9 militants as Kenya seeks support

Nine Al Shabaab militants have been killed by Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and Somali troops patrolling the border near the town of Elwak.
The nine died in a fierce exchange of fire after the KDF and Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces stumbled on their camp.
The news came as Kenya intensified its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East to win backing for the offensive dubbed "Operation Linda Nchi".

Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula who is in the Sultanate of Oman, held talks with his counterpart Yusuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah and fronted Kenya’s need for support.
Kenya had made sacrifices hosting over 600,000 refugees in camps in North Eastern Province. Oman reiterated its support for the operation against the Al Shabaab and the right of Kenya to protect its integrity, said the ministry statement.

Wetangula traveled to Oman after successfully lobbying Uganda and Burundi to back Kenya’s case.

In Nairobi, Nigeria joined countries supporting Kenya in the war against Al Shabaab militants. Outgoing Nigerian ambassador to Kenya, Dr Wilcox Wigwe, said his country would give Kenya logistical support through the Africa Union (AU) in the offensive on the militants.

"We understand what Kenya is facing and wish to reiterate our full support on the war. We moved from troops contribution to logistical support which we will do through AU," said Wigwe.

He did not explain the nature of the logistical support that Nigeria would offer, but stated terrorism must be defeated. Nigeria has been hit by a series of terrorist bombings linked to the militant group called Boko Haram that, like Al Shabaab, has links to the terrorist Al Qaeda group.

Wigwe spoke at his sending off party following his four years of service in Kenya. Former Nigerian President Olesugun Obasanjo, who was present at the party, appointed him.

Uganda and Burundi have also reiterated their full support for the war on the militants

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi separately reaffirmed their backing of the war against the Somalia-based terror group when they received special messages from President Kibaki.

Al-Shabaab on the run in south zone

Kenyan troops operating in the southern part of the border with Somalia estimate that they have removed the Al-Shabaab from about 50 per cent of the area.

The camp at Ishakani is the launching point for troops in the Southern Sector of Operation Linda Nchi, which is being carried out in a three-pronged attack from the North at El Wak, Centre at Liboi and the South at the coast and northwards.

Ishakani is a few kilometres from Ras Kamboni, the former headquarters of the Al-Qaeda in East Africa, which was taken on Mashujaa Day.
Burgavo remains under the control of the Kenyan troops, who will then embark on the attack on the important port city of Kismayu, in a bid to strangle the Al-Shabaab economically.

Al-Shabaab militia have changed tack and returned to guerrilla tactics, a military officer said, indicating that Kenya’s engagement in Somalia is likely to be lengthy.
The militia have also abandoned their uniforms, the colonel said, making it difficult to identify them, and they had switched to night time operations after taking many casualties in the first weeks of Operation Linda Nchi.

Col Oguna said Al-Shaabab had also stepped up its propaganda and use of small weapons, grenades, improvised explosive devices and land mines.

“They are also using donkeys for transport and other logistics which are difficult to detect as they look harmless,” the officer said.

Asked which stage Kenya’s operation had reached and when the forces would move to the next one, Col Oguna said the military was dealing with two issues inside Somalia: pacification of areas under its control and providing humanitarian assistance to Somalis.

“Pacification is tedious, time-consuming and painstaking. We are going door-to-door and Al-Shabaab elements hiding in houses are not easily identified,” he said.

Operation Linda Nchi, he said, was divided into three sectors—northern, central and southern