Kenya declares war on Al Shabaab!

Read with a grain of salt!

French copter crashes in Somalia
Fri Nov 11, 2011 6:40PM GMT
A French army helicopter on patrol in the Gulf of Aden (File Photo)

Nine people are believed to have died after a French helicopter crashed near Somalia's Southern port city of Kismayo, Press TV reports.

The military chopper crashed late on Friday as it was patrolling the area between the town of Kuda and Kismayo, local Somali official, Captain Sabriye, said.

The crash caused a massive explosion and sent flames high into the sky.

French helicopters fly over the area, to provide backup for Kenyan forces, who launched an incursion into Somalia in October in pursuit of al-Shabab fighters.

In late October, French military spokesman Colonel Thierry Burkhard said Paris would transport air-borne military equipment to Kenyan soldiers near the Somali border.

-PressTV
 
No need to take it personally. I am just making a correction and will not tire clarifying. You made a misleading claim about my opinions and "change of the same"; it gives the impression that you have been keeping track of what I say, even if you fail to understand it. I am not here to entertain you and I fully respect your right to wallow in ignorance willful or otherwise. I wish the Kenyan troops all the best as I am sure most Tanzanians do; the two countries are natural allies.
Askari Kanzu said:
Do you really believe that I am here waiting for that? Anyway, I hope developments on the ground will help change your mind; sooner rather than later!
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Bantugbro,

Ngatia is a well known nut job living in self imposed exile on the taxpayers dole in Scandinavia. I would not use him as a reference for anything other than for entertainment value. He is comical.
 
November 9, 2011 Kampala, Uganda.

UGANDAN VIEW ON THE PROPER ROLE FOR KENYA DEFENCE FORCES(KDF) IN SOMALIA

Djibouti, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone have said they will each add a battalion of 850 troops to Amisom's cause. Last month, Kenya's traditionally non-interventionist army moved into the war-torn country by the thousands, claiming the right under the UN Security Council Article of self-defence. Yet it has been nearly over a fortnight since Kenya entered and the requirements of that Article have still not been proven.


What is more, the move violates another Security Council resolution, which advises Somalia's border states becoming against militarily involved in the conflict. Changing the rules in Somalia is nothing new – the shamed and bloodied withdrawals of the UN, US and Ethiopia in the past have more than attested to that. But Amisom has managed considerable gains – establishing a relatively secure Mogadishu has not been able to be achieved by anyone else in the past.


"Phase one, which is the liberation of Mogadishu and its environs, is in its final stages. We still have three more phases... so we are still here," says Amisom Spokesperson Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda. Cutting off the al Shabaab financial hub in Kismayo as Kenya has vowed to do is agreed by both sides to be the next step – but who the right army to do it is, is another question entirely.


Discord showing
Kenya is not prepared to enter Mogadishu; it has been frank about this being a retaliatory operation for the attacks on its own soil, and says it will withdraw as soon as the threat to its border is eradicated.


The open call for UN and Amisom troops from Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his Somalian counterpart Abdiweli Mohamed Ali just two weeks after Kenya entered Somalia shows they cannot do it alone. Yet Kenya, as an independent actor now seems to have taken a military stance – suggesting only once their forces have cleared towns in south central Somalia, could Amisom move in, and stay there.


Amisom's official line is welcoming of Kenya's forces (Lt. Ankunda calls them a "force multiplier" with a "common purpose of peace in the region"). But Prof. Kasaija says the recommendation from the UPDF was in fact the opposite.


"The argument for them is that the Kenyan soldiers should occupy the areas which have already been cleared by the UPDF, so that then the UPDF can be allowed to move into the areas which are still being occupied by the al-Shabaab," he said. "I don't think it's going to be sustained by Kenya in terms of the fighting. Amisom has that mandate, the offensive capacity."




"If Uganda was to leave today, the TFG (Transitional Federal Government) would leave before Uganda, because it really does not have the capacity to sustain itself in power even for one day without the support of Amisom – it is 100 per cent dependent on the support of Amisom," Prof. Kasaija says.


"That's where the problem lies – if you have a deployment that does not have an exit strategy. Government says we can only exit when there is stability in Somalia, so that is really an open-ended thing – when is there going to be stability in Somalia?"


READ MORE FROM SOURCE: The war in Somalia: What the current crisis means for Uganda*- Reviews & Profiles*|monitor.co.ug



 
tomilay said:
... I am not here to entertain you and I fully respect your right to wallow in ignorance willful or otherwise. I wish the Kenyan troops all the best as I am sure most Tanzanians do; the two countries are natural allies.
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When did I ask you to entertain me? And if you think I am ignorant then I must say I feel sorry for you. Stop being too emotional. It does not help the war!
 

Dont believe this persian news agent.They are busy spreading alshabab propaganda plus their deep hatred for the western world and his allies.THANK YOU
 
bagamoyo,

Ahsante. I have included the part that caught my attention making me come dangerously close to falling off my chair with laughter. The Ugandans have been holed up in Villa Mogadishu and the airport for three bloody years. What power does TFG have? Kenya moves in and within days eases the pressure on them from Al Shabab and all they see is an army that cannot sustain fighting - I guess like fighting a bunch of child soldiers for over 20 years.

Why are our Ugandan brothers so delusional?

AMISOM should be working with the Kenyans to decommission Al Shabab rather than worrying who will control where when its over. They should not waste time and make themselves useful to the Kenyan operation. The KDF can hopefully provide some much needed air support to their forces in Mogadishu to cut down on their casualties. Kenya could not join AMISOM in Mogadishu leaving its own border exposed to Al Shabab but also because it was officially forbidden; however it was not forbidden for Kenya to defend itself.
 
I did not say you are ignorant even if you believe KDF is in the same league as Tz army. Do I sense some things getting lost in translation? You are reading too much into things I write. Ndungu why are you fighting shadows; we are on the same side in this Al Shabab war.
Askari Kanzu said:
When did I ask you to entertain me? And if you think I am ignorant then I must say I feel sorry for you. Stop being too emotional. It does not help the war!
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Take it easy, Sir!
 
Ulinziguy said:
Dont believe this persian news agent.They are busy spreading alshabab propaganda plus their deep hatred for the western world and his allies.THANK YOU
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And that's why I said you should read the piece with a grain of salt.
 

So far, according to PressTV; 10 drones have crashed or been shot down, 4 helicopters (two French, two Kenyan) have crashed/been shot down, and 2 fighter (Kenyan) jets have crashed. All this in the space of the last three weeks. In addition, the Shabab have won every engagement with all the forces arrayed against them...funny thing is, they have won all the battles but are losing ground quite drastically on every front...funny war, this!
 
Kenya Seeks UN Security Council Support for Somalia Attacks
November 12, 2011, 6:19 AM EST

By Eric Ombok

Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Kenya will seek the support of the United Nations for its military offensive against the al-Shabaab militia group in Somalia, which it claims murdered a British tourist and abducted four foreign tourists and aid workers.

Kenya, which began the offensive on Oct. 16, also plans to seek the support of the Arab League and other Islamic states, Lindsay Kiptiness, an official at the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters today in the capital, Nairobi.

“We are seeking the support of the United Nations Security Council on the possibility of enhancing the operations of Amisom to cover the whole of Somalia, and not only Mogadishu,” he said. The African Union Mission in Somalia, or Amison, is a peacekeeping mission operated by the AU in Somalia with a mandate from the UN.

Somalia, on Kenya’s northeastern border, hasn’t had a functioning government since the 1991 overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Al-Shabaab, which has waged a four-year campaign to remove the transitional administration, controlled most of southern and central Somalia.

Soldiers from Kenya, which has secured the support of Inter-Governmental Authority on Development member states and the East African Community, are now patrolling areas of Somalia freed from the control of al-Shabaab militants, army spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna said in Nairobi today.

Pockets of Fighters

In the south of Somalia, house-to-house searches are continuing for remaining al-Shabaab fighters, clearing the way for deliveries of aid to civilians, while further north fighting is continuing with pockets of al-Shabaab, he said.

In the southern sector the Kenyan military has “full control of the sea including our territorial waters and beyond,” Oguna said, without elaborating.

Yesterday, a vehicle carrying khat, a chewable narcotic leaf, was attacked by Kenyan soldiers in the region, resulting in the deaths of four al-Shaabab fighters, he said. Since the offensive started last month, “hundreds” of members of al- Shabaab have been killed while the Kenyan army has suffered five deaths, Oguna said.

-Bloomberg
 
bagamoyo said:
UGANDAN VIEW ON THE PROPER ROLE FOR KENYA DEFENCE FORCES(KDF) IN SOMALIA
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Where to start;



You might want to look here. please note the date...what Kind of journalism is this?




What is more, the move violates another Security Council resolution, which advises Somalia’s border states becoming against militarily involved in the conflict.
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That wasn't a Security Council resolution, that was an IGAD resolution. IGAD have since come out with this. Again, please note the date and pay close attention to point number 3 and 4 on that document. I have to ask again, what kind of journalism is this?

As for the rest, @tomilay has said all that needs to be said really. What a ridiculous article!
 
Al-Shabaab change of tack may prolong the war in Somalia
By LUCAS BARASA lbarassa@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Saturday, November 12 2011 at 22:30

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 Islamic militants have been facing a crisis of legitimacy in recent weeks amid defections from their ranks and a hostile attitude towards the movement by elders who have urged youths not to join the group in the face of a joint onslaught by the Kenyan military and Transitional Federal Government troops. (Read: Shabaab parade in stronghold)

At a briefing on Saturday at the Foreign Affairs ministry, Colonel Cyrus Oguna said Al-Shabaab were now operating in groups of two to five.

It emerged that 30 Al-Shabaab youths had surrendered to the government following the offer of an amnesty.

The new reality means that the group has been forced to melt into the population and operate in small groups, making it harder to launch air strikes against them.

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

Full story (Saturday Nation)
 
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Askari Kanzu said:
And that's why I said you should read the piece with a grain of salt.
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Just to be sincere since this war on alshabab started how many american drowns,kenyan and french helicopters and kenyan jets have been grounded by alshabab?why is press tv reporting alone?why not xihnua of china or cnn getting a clue?
 
OPINIONS

Ulinziguy
Just to be sincere since this war on alshabab started how many american drowns,kenyan and french helicopters and kenyan jets have been grounded by alshabab?why is press tv reporting alone?why not xihnua of china or cnn getting a clue?
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More opinions

 
Kenyan soldiers kill 9 al-Shabab militants in Somalia
In this Oct. 20, 2011 file photo, African Union peacekeepers hold their positions in the Deynile district of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, after al-Shabab was chased out of the neighborhood in a dawn offensive by Somali government troops and African Union peacekeepers. (AP / Ali Bashi)

Sun Nov. 13 2011

The Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan and Somali government troops have killed nine members of an al Qaeda-linked militant group they are pursuing in Somalia, Kenya's military spokesman said Sunday.

Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir said the soldiers came upon an al-Shabab camp while on patrol Saturday night.

He said four Kenyan soldiers were wounded. One of the Kenyan soldiers who was critically wounded has been flown to the Kenyan town of Garissa for further treatment, Chirchir said in a statement.

Chirchir said some militants are believed to have escaped with wounds and advised residents of the Kenya-Somalia border town of Elwak to be on the lookout for people seeking treatment for wounds.

Separately, the Kenyan army said it conducted a raid in Elwak town on Saturday night and arrested four people in possession of illegal weapons. Of those arrested, one is Kenyan and others are Somalis, Chirchir said.

Kenya last month sent hundreds of troops into Somalia to pursue al-Shabab. The East African nation blames the group for a string of attacks and kidnappings in Kenya, including those of four Europeans. The Kenyan government says the kidnappings threaten tourism, a key source of revenue for the country.

In return, al-Shabab has threatened to attack Kenya's capital with suicide bombings. Somalia has not had a functioning government since the ouster of longtime dictator Siad Barre in 1991 by warlords who then turned on each other.

Al-Shabab, Somalia's most dangerous militant group, is waging an insurgency against Somalia's weak-UN backed government.
 
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