SOMALIA RETURNING TO CIVIL WAR AND DRAGGING KENYA
Villa Somalia’s war against Jubaland and other regional states is a worrying case of misplaced priorities. First, it diverts vital resources from the fight against al-Shabab, which is Somalia’s agent and necessary war. Second, it complicates Somalia’s economic recovery process and provokes a war with Kenya; justified to sweep Farmaajo’s re-election wave in 2020/2021. Somalia must fix its attention on defeating the al-Shabaab and on development to drain the swamps of violent extremism.
09 Aug 2017
Political unrest in Kenya as Raila supporters challenge election result!
Supporters of the Kenyan opposition presidential candidate shout and gesture during a protest in the Mathare slums of Nairobi, a day after the presidential election. President Uhuru Kenyatta appeared headed for re-election but his rival Raila Odinga claimed a massive hacking attack had manipulated results, ratcheting up tensions in opposition strongholds.
LUIS TATO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Al-Shabab fighters attack Kenya military base in Somalia
I
Image captionThis is not the first time that al-Shabab fighters have attacked a Kenyan military base in Somalia
Islamist militant al-Shabab fighters have launched an attack on a Kenyan military base in southern Somalia.
The al-Qaeda-linked group says it has killed more than 50 soldiers and seized military vehicles and weapons.
But a Kenyan military spokesman said the dawn attack was repelled, the base was not overrun and scores of insurgents were killed in the fighting.
A year ago al-Shabab carried out a similar attack on a Kenyan base in the town el-Ade.
Al-Shabab attacks airstrip in Kenya, killing three Americans
By
Max Bearak
January 5, 2020 at 7:25 PM EST
NAIROBI — Al-Shabab militants launched a predawn attack Sunday on an airstrip used by the U.S. and Kenyan militaries, on Kenya's coast near the border with Somalia, killing one U.S. service member and two American private contractors, according to a U.S. military statement.
Two other American contractors were wounded and were being evacuated in stable condition, the statement said.
6 al-Shabaab militants killed in Kenya
1 more al-Shabaab militant captured in northern Garissa County, says regional commissioner
Andrew Wasike |13.03.2020
NAIROBI, Kenya
Six al-Shabaab militants were killed by security forces in northern Kenya on Friday.
Kenyan special forces also captured one more militant, who is injured and receiving treatment, in Garissa County, North-Eastern Regional Commissioner Nicholas Ndalana told Anadolu Agency.
“The timely action by Kenyan forces has prevented the loss of innocent Kenyan lives,” he said.
Kenya’s porous border with Somalia is on high alert following a warning by the U.S. Embassy in the capital Nairobi.
A few weeks ago, the embassy warned of a possible attack on a major hotel in Kenya.
The Somalia-based al-Shabaab, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda, has carried out several attacks along the border over past years.
In 2018, more than 100 Kenyan security personnel were killed in separate attacks along the Kenya-Somalia border.
Al-Shabaab
Al-Shabaab kills three Americans in attack on US military base in Kenya
One US serviceman and two US Department of Defense contractors killed, while five attackers were killed
AP in Nairobi
Sun 5 Jan 2020 16.52 EST
Al-Shabaab extremists have overrun a key military base in Kenya, killing three American Department of Defense personnel and destroying several US aircraft and vehicles before they were repelled.
The attack on the Manda Bay airfield early on Sunday was the al-Qaida-linked group’s first attack against US forces in the East African country, and the military called the security situation “fluid” several hours after the assault.
Five attackers were killed, Kenyan military spokesman Paul Njuguna said.
Al-Shabaab, based in neighboring Somalia, claimed responsibility for the assault.
Al-Shabaab Releases Video on the Kenya Defence Force
In the 50-minute footage, the militant group claims to have killed more than 100 Kenyan soldiers during the dawn raid on January 15.
US soldier, contractors killed in al-Shabab attack on Kenya base
Two more members of the US Department of Defence wounded in the raid on base used by US and Kenyan troops.
06 Jan 2020 GMT+3
A US military service member and two US contractors have been killed in an
al-Shabab attack on a military base in Kenya used by US and Kenyan military personnel, the US military said.
Two other Department of Defense personnel were wounded in Sunday's attack on the Manda Bay Airfield in Lamu county.
"The wounded Americans are currently in stable condition and being evacuated," Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a statement.
Kenyans face up to 'homeboys’ threat after hotel attack
In previous al-Shabab attacks, the perpetrators were often Somali; in the Nairobi hotel siege, many were Kenyan.
by
Hamza Mohamed
20 Jan 2019 GMT+3
Nyeri, Kenya - As the early morning fog gave way to bright sunshine, residents of Majengo in the town of Nyeri in central
Kenya, stepped gingerly out of their homes.
Most were quiet and appeared uneasy as groups of young students in uniform rushed to get to school.
The day before, the community found out that one of their own was involved in
a deadly attack on an upscale hotel and office complex in the capital, Nairobi.
CCTV footage from the scene of the attack showed Salim Ali Gichunge to be one of the assailants.
The gunmen, members of the al-Qaeda-linked armed group
al-Shabab, killed at least 21 people in the siege which lasted for 19 hours.
The residents in this sprawling informal settlement remain in shock, unable to make sense of how Gichunge took part in the killing of his own countrymen.
"Our children have no jobs. They need to eat. Most of them have dropped out of school and their parents are too poor to help them continue with education," Ratib Hussein, a community leader, told Al Jazeera.
"The parents have no idea when and how the al-Shabab recruiters come for their children," Hussein adds, standing a short distance from the house where Gichunge was born and spent his early years.
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| People are evacuated by a member of security forces during the al-Shabab attack in Nairobi [Baz Ratner/Reuters] |
In the last five years, al-Shabab fighters have carried out more than 20 attacks in Kenya that have left at least 300 people dead.
The last time the group carried out a
major attack in Nairobi was 2013. Fighters from the group killed more than 60 people in a four-day siege at a shopping mall.
But this attack was different. At least three of the five gunmen seen in the CCTV footage were Kenyans. The suicide bomber was from the coastal city of Mombasa and another attacker came from Limuru.
The fighters who carried out the Westgate mall attack were from
Somalia.
Domestic threat
Kenyans are now waking up to a different threat - one that they had not suspected existed until Tuesday's attack. So-called "homegrown terrorism" has now emerged as a real threat in the East African country of 50 million people.
Shortly after the siege ended, Kenyan President
Uhuru Kenyatta said the attackers were eliminated. It is not clear how many attackers were killed. Some media reports said Gichunge was captured and is being held in police custody.
Gichunge, also known as Farouk, moved from Nyeri to Isiolo during his teenage years, according to his family. He then moved to Mombasa before moving to Somalia and joining the armed group about three years ago, according to residents.
In every major city in Kenya, there are large informal settlements where most are struggling to put food on the table.
High
unemployment is common in Majengo, especially among young people, making the slum a fertile ground for recruiters offering money and other incentives.
"Young people here have nothing to do. They leave the house in the morning and you don't know what they are doing. Some go missing and parents don't know where they went. It is painful. But there is nothing for them to do here," Hussein, the Majengo community leader, added.
Following the siege, Kenyatta promised to make Kenya "inhospitable" for armed groups like al-Shabab.
"We will seek out every single person that was involved in the funding, planning and execution of the heinous act. We will pursue relentlessly wherever they will be until they are held to account," Kenyatta said in a televised addressed on Wednesday.
Kenya marks anniversary of deadly Westgate mall attack
21 September 2014
Kenya is marking a year since the attack on a Nairobi shopping centre, in which at least 67 people were killed.
A memorial plaque with names of the victims was unveiled ahead of a candle-lit vigil being held later on Sunday.
The siege at Westgate lasted four days, with CCTV footage showing terrified shoppers fleeing the gunmen and cowering behind counters.
Somali Islamist group al-Shabab said it carried out the attack in response to Kenya's military operations in Somalia.
On high alert
Relatives of the victims laid wreaths at a garden in the forest where 67 trees were planted after the attack.
Interfaith prayers were held at the site as a memorial plaque with names of the victims on was unveiled.
Amul Shah, who spoke at the event, said his life was "completely shattered" after his son Mitul died in the attack.
Mr Shah said his 38-year-old son was looking after children taking part in a cooking competition on the shopping centre's rooftop when the siege happened.
"He helped several children escape from the attack, but he was not lucky himself. He was so selfless," Mr Shah said.
Kenya's Westgate attack: Unanswered questions one year on
By Dennis OkariBBC Africa, Nairobi
22 September 2014
A year on from the assault by Islamist militants on the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi, Kenyans still have questions about the four-day siege and its aftermath.
It was the worst attack on Kenyan soil since the 1998 US embassy bombing by al-Qaeda - leaving 67 people dead and more than 200 wounded.
The military, police and spy agency have been battling to save face over the handling of the rescue operation.
Here are five key issues that remain unresolved read more at :
Westgate's unanswered questions
Kenya’s Terrorist Triple Helix: The Dusit Hotel Attack and the Historical Evolution of the Jihadi Threat
JULY 2019, VOLUME 12, ISSUE 6
Authors:
MATT BRYDEN,
PREMDEEP BAHRA
SHARE VIA:
On January 15, 2019, a group of terrorists carried out a deadly attack against 14 Riverside Drive, an office complex in Nairobi’s upscale Westlands neighborhood that also hosts the Dusit D2 luxury hotel. During the course of the overnight siege, 21 people were killed and at least 28 injured.
1In contrast with the shambolic response to al-Shabaab’s 2013 attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall, Kenya’s security forces reacted with alacrity and professionalism, assisting some 700 people in the compound to reach safety. By mid-morning the following day, the siege was over and the terrorists dead. The Somali jihadi group Harakaat al-Shabaab al-Mujaahidiin, commonly known as al-Shabaab, claimed responsibility for the attack.
2
The D2 operation, as it came to be known, bore the classic hallmarks of an al-Shabaab complex attack: the tactics, techniques, and procedures employed by the assailants were all too familiar, tried and tested dozens of times over the past decade by al-Shabaab in Somalia. Nor was it the first time that the group has conducted mass casualty ‘martyrdom’ operations beyond Somalia’s borders. Only the successful deployment of a suicide bomber—something the group has managed to do in Uganda and Djibouti—distinguished the operation from previous al-Shabaab attacks in Kenya.
3 But the Dusit attack was unique in one important respect: it was the first successful al-Shabaab martyrdom operation planned, led, and carried out primarily by Kenyans not of Somali descent.
4
Although one operation does not in itself indicate a trend, key aspects of the D2 operation suggest that this is a new phase in the evolution of the terrorist threat in East Africa and the Horn. The reasons are twofold: first, the coming of age of al-Shabaab’s East African fighters, gradually transforming a predominantly Somali organization into a more inclusive regional avatar of al-Qa`ida in East Africa; and second, the faltering of Somalia’s political reconstruction under the administration of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire,
5offering al-Shabaab ample time and space to plan and prepare new operations.
Al Shababy Garissa University College attack in Kenya: What happened?
19 June 2019
Image copyrightAFP/GETTY IMAGES
Image captionMilitants killed 148 people at the university, most of whom were students
On 3 April 2015, four gunmen stormed Kenya's Garissa University College and began firing indiscriminately.
The attackers singled out and shot those identified as Christians as they roamed from building to building. By the end, 148 people had been killed - mostly students.
Security forces eventually surrounded and killed the men. Somali Islamist group al-Shabab said it was behind the terror attack, the second deadliest in Kenyan history.
How did the attack unfold?
Students were getting ready for morning prayers when the shooting began at about 05:00 local time (02:00 GMT).
Gunmen first killed two security guards on the gate before entering the campus and opening fire.
They moved through administrative buildings and classrooms to the dormitories. Almost 900 students were at the university.
