Kenya not serious in anti-terror war, says Somali Army commander

A senior Somali National Army commander has accused Kenyan officials of ignoring intelligence information on the al Shabaab militants.

Speaking near Bulla Hawa town, along the Kenya-Somalia border, Yassin Bare Hassan, the SNA Commander in the Gedo region said some senior Kenyan security officials turn a blind eye to al Shabaab.

“Kenya is not serious in the fight against al Shabaab,” said a visibly angry Hassan.

“Some weeks ago, we gave names of individuals we knew to have links with terror networks in Somalia and who were in Mandera county. They were 14, including two whites. But Kenyan officials did not do anything about it,” he said.

Asked why the Somali forces did not deal with them, he said the suspects enter and leave through routes manned by Kenyan forces.

“The security forces know those routes. They cannot deny it. The individuals and their collaborators know that we know them. They avoid us,” he said adding that the KDF knew the location of the al Shabaab strongholds and that al Shabaab had easy access in and out of Mandera.

“There is a town called Gadandawe, some tens of kilometres from here [Bulla Hawa]. Kenya knows the town is a safe haven for al Shabaab. They never made an attempt to flush them out,” he said while also discrediting KDF's claims that it bombed al Shabaab territory in the Lower Juba region.

“KDF many times just bombed livestock herders and killed hundreds of animals. They actually know where al Shabaab adherents are and their movements,” he said.

The Somali commander also faulted the route of the proposed Kenya security wall saying it lies within Somali territory.

“Kenya has taken advantage of the many years of Somalia’s lawlessness and encroached on our land. More than two kilometres of Somalia is now illegally inhabited by Kenyans,” he said.

The land includes a Kenya police post, Immigration office and Customs department.

Source: The Star