Somalia has continued to escalate tensions with her neighbor Kenya over the latest attacks in the country’s Gedo region. Somalia has blatantly accused Kenya on what is happening in Gedo amid already deteriorating diplomatic relations between the neighbors.
In recent months, Somalia recalled its envoy to Mogadishu and sending Kenya’s envoy back to Nairobi over various disputes. Mogadishu administration has been angered by the budding relation between Kenya and the breakaway region known as Somaliland. The Horn of Africa nation has also accused Kenya of interfering in the politics of Jubbaland, a semi-autonomous state, and now President Farmajo’s administration through Information Minister continued to lay blame of the sponsored Gedo war.
The move prompted Kenya’s Foreign Ministry to write a diplomatic note African Union Commission on Monday highlighting concerns about the violence because of its proximity to the border. The note warned that if the fighting continues unabated, the situation could further destabilize the region, complicate the security situation and reverse gains made in the fight against terrorism.
Kenya has been on the forefront on the war against terrorism, deploying its military troops within the mandate of the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to fight the Islamist Al-Shabaab, in an effort to degrade the militant group and subsequently stabilize Somalia and the broader East Africa region.
While Somalia continues to squabble, accusing her neighbor of interfering with the country’s internal affairs, the Islamists Al-Shabaab is taking advantage, exploiting this void, a disruption to conduct more attacks in Somalia. So far, the Al-Qaeda aligned militant group has intensified campaigns against military and civilians in Somalia, with close to 60 attacks being reported.
Much worse, Al-Shabaab is taking advantage that the country attention is divided in the upcoming national elections. Al-Shabaab continue escalating its attacks throughout the country. More than a dozen deadly attacks were reported over the last week alone, underscoring al-Shabaab’s unrelenting campaign of violence.
Fears of Al-Shabaab attacks disrupting the elections stem from past violence that targeted delegates who voted in previous parliamentary elections. Al-Shabaab militants are responsible for the deaths of dozens of past delegates. AMISOM troops which Kenyan troops are part of have significantly supported the weak Somalia National Army (SNA) in ousting Al-Shabaab from the country’s major cities including the control of the capital, Mogadishu.
However, Al-Shabaab is still able to maintain an operational capability in Mogadishu and seek refuge in rural areas and along the Kenya-Ethiopia border. In addition to Al-Shabaab, other clan militias and Islamist militant groups continue to dominate in large areas in the rest of the country. These groups continue to clash with each other as well as with government forces as what is happening in Gedo region of Somalia.
Somalia is set to suffer huge blows geopolitically and as far as fight against Al-Shabaab which is strongly embed within its local levels if its continue to accuse Kenya, a key ally and partner in this war.
