Ethiopia’s Non-AMISOM Deployment in Somalia; A Policy of Commitment

Event Summary

Monday 18^th August 2015; Media reports distributed on virtual environment confirm presence of Ethiopian military officers and ground troops fighting outside the UN-AMISOM mandate.

The report was intended to elicit perceptions of such deployment as illegal besides draw out a picture of occupation of Somalia by the Ethiopian army in place of counter-terrorism and humanitarian operations.

Assessment

Ethiopia & Kenya Army Troops Strategic Military Operations outside UN Mandate draws out a picture of commitment to speed up counter terrorism efforts in East Africa particularly in Somalia where Al-Qaeda branch in the region is based.

A Recent article by Voice America www.voa.com reported presence of Ethiopia’s Defense Forces in Somalia working outside the UN’s AMISOM command.

Ethiopia was the first African country to send an intervention force in Somali. Military operations targeting the Islamic Courts Union brought about the formation of the 1^st government of Somalia which was based in Baidoa.

Kenya has deployed soldiers to protect the country against the militant group Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen. These soldiers were not under the AMISOM payroll rather a force working to protect lives and property.

The case of Ethiopia’s ENDF in Hiraan region is not different from the KDF deployment.

Analysis

According to Military Intelligence and Counter Terrorism officers in the Kenya army, “This shows commitment to getting rid of the Al-Qaeda branch in East Africa, the Harakat Al-Shabaab Mijahideen movement. This policy of commitment to getting rid of terrorists without having to wait for only those sponsored by the African Union is perfectly in order.”

The reports about these deployments were misreported by journalists. The objective is to provide a picture of invasion of Somalia by the Ethiopians and their Kenyan counterparts.

According to Kenya’s security intelligence experts, sympathizers of the terrorist group may want to make a big deal out of it, but the truly profound is that Ethiopia and Kenya won’t wait for UN money to eradicate terrorism, rather will use all resources available to stymie the terror group.