Kenya Readies Itself For War Against Al Qaeda 'Off shoot' In Somalia,,Somalia war: Kenya on the spot over secret enlisting

In dozens of Kenyan madrasas and schools, a new front is opening. Though no borders are being fought over and though the combatants are unarmed, a government campaign is in conflict with Al-Shabab for control over some of its most important resource - its youth."We want our youth to get it clear that Al-Shabab does not have anything to do with Islamic religion and that they should not be involved in the war in Somalia," said Kenyan parliamentarian Abdikadir Mohammed, the Secretary of a regional parliamentary group.After Al-Shabab members were found lecturing in Kenyan schools in the North East of the country, fears of radicalism in the region mounted. Muslim youths were being targeted both as possible Al-Shabab recruits and as a means to further Al-Shabab's influence in the region.In response, the government set up an initiative involving a multitude of spiritual leaders, politicians and lobbyists, to address the issues of peace, religion and terrorism, alongside an attempt to encourage young Muslims to have a greater understanding of their faith.But aside from its positive dimensions, the campaign represents something much darker: the growing threat of Al-Shabab, which is slowly over spilling its Somali borders and bringing tensions closer to home.One of Kenya's top soldiers and former Air-Force Commander, General Jeremiah Kianga, believes attacking Somali radical Islamist fighters is the best weapon against the jihadist forces spreading fear across Kenya. According to Kenya's army philosophy, the General said, losing a war is not an option."We must always come first. We must win. To come second is to lose. This is not just empty talk. We will act," he reportedly told soldiers.The warning from the top military general was the first clear signal that Kenya was not mincing words on the severity of the threat it believed the Somali militia posed.The top General's warning that Kenya would strike Al-Shabab's strongholds came after threats by Al-Shabab and their allies Hizbu Islam, the Islamic Party, sent shock waves through the ranks of Kenya's military planners.Kenyan soldiers went into training in the drier northern region in anticipation of possible threats from the Al-Shabab, which sent two messages within two months, urging Kenya to whittle down her military presence around the border, or face war. "These countries (Ethiopia and Kenya) must redeploy their forces from Somali soil, otherwise, their armies will meet defeat and humiliation," said Sheikh Yakoub, a member of an Islamist coalition currently still in control of Kismayu.But Nairobi appeared unperturbed by the ongoing threats until the United States government cancelled a maiden flight by Delta Airlines, an American airline, which was to begin direct flights between Nairobi and America.With over 500 suspected foreign fighters in Mogadishu alone, fighting with Al-Shabab to oust President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, Kenya's military planners have been aware of the threat from the Islamist group for some time. The rebels' attempt to consolidate power across rural and urban Somalia has left foreign governments with few options.In early July, leaders from the Horn of Africa, met with heads of the African Union in Sirte, Libya, to discuss an appropriate strategy against Al-Shabab. The mandate for the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia was changed to allow Kenyan troops into Somalia, overturning a previous agreement by neighboring states to avoid military intervention and act as mediators for the 2004 power-sharing government, led by President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed.Following president Ahmed's ousting in 2008, the deteriorating situation in Mogadishu and Al-Shabab's rising influence, current Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Al Shamarke spent several months holding talks with senior Kenyan officials to discuss the possibilities of the multi front assault against Al-Shabab."I think this (Al-Shabab) is a great danger to the entire region," the Somali Prime Minister said, warning that more and more foreign jihadists from Pakistan and Afghanistan are in Somalia to fight alongside Al-Shabab.The African Union recently moved to stop the flow of arms and foreign jihadist fighters into Somalia, by appealing to the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zones across Somalia, an airspace which until recently has been largely unmanned and often in the hands of extremists.Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7016618540#ixzz0THJJ7aPo
Somalia war: Kenya on the spot over secret enlisting

Gunmen from Hizbul Islam head for Somalia’s southern port of Kismayu in this October 1 photo. Claims are rife that the Kenya military is recruiting youths for the ongoing fighting between militias and the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. Photo/REUTERS

By Abdullahi Jamaa, Issa Hussein, Muchemi Wachira and Dominic Wabala in Kenya and Kevin J. Kelley in New YorkPosted Wednesday, October 7 2009 at 22:30

Tension gripped Garissa Town on Wednesday following claims that hundreds of youths were being recruited secretly to fight in Somalia..more..http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/669514/-/unilta/-/