The West is at a collective loss over dealing with the Islamist militia, so Nairobi's bid to tackle this African problem should be applauded.
Kenya's military intervention in southern Somalia marks an important and hazardous moment for African peacekeeping. It will boost the beleaguered Somali government, at least in the short term, and may bring limited relief to the famished local population. But despite their superior firepower, Kenya's armed forces may struggle, like the Ethiopians and Ugandans before them, to decisively defeat the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab Islamist militia whose depredations prompted the incursion.
Home to largest refugee camp
Nairobi's decision to send in its troops is not altruistic. For Kenya and other neighbours, not least fragile Yemen, Somalia has become a vortex of instability, suffering and terror that radiates outwards to affect those within its orbit, even hundreds of miles out to sea. There have been cross-border operations before. But this ground intervention is on a grander scale, similar in some respects to Ethiopia's in 2006. It's a wonder it did not come sooner. Kenya has become home to the world's biggest refugee camp, at Dadaab, where 460,000 Somalis have sought shelter. Kenya's $750m-a-year tourist industry has suffered a sudden, catastrophic decline since al-Shabab shifted its focus south and turned its guns on western visitors and aid workers.
The idea that al-Shabab has deliberately sought to widen the conflict is probably mistaken. More likely it is the result of weakness and fracturing control within the militia. Al-Shabab forces largely pulled out of Mogadishu in August. They said it was tactical but it was more likely the product of pressure from Somali government troops and the U.N.- and African Union-backed peacekeeping mission, Amisom, plus growing public hostility. A random suicide bombing on October 4 that killed dozens in Mogadishu suggested al-Shabab had again declared war on the capital. Tougher international enforcement action to curb piracy may have contributed to forcing it on to the back foot. It has also reportedly been weakened by internal disputes, not least on how to manage the famine ravaging the Somali regions under its control.
Issue of Somali support
Having taken the plunge, the Kenyan government is not expected to try to occupy swaths of southern Somalia indefinitely. Experts suggest instead that Nairobi will seek to support Somali government forces and arm local militia antipathetic to al-Shabab. There has been talk in the past of creating a buffer zone. But the risk remains that the Kenyans get bogged down in hostile territory, a fate that has befallen better-trained armies than theirs. All the same, Kenya's decision to step in is a brave one that should be supported by western powers. Like charity, effective peacekeeping begins at home. African countries that step up to tackle an African problem, rather than sitting back and complaining when the West tries to do it for them, are to be applauded. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2011
Kenya and the whole of eastern Africa should have gone to Somalia 20 years ago then the problem was not as big as it is now this is a wake up call
Simon! Thank you for your reporting. It is rare to hear something positive coming from the West when there is an African initiative. Kenya has been very generous with its neighbours and more so with Somalia. Most Kenyans view Somalis as brethren because there are what we call -'The Kenyan Somalis and The Somalis from Somalia.' There are local Somalis who happened to be settled on that side of Kenya when the colonialists invaded and sliced up Africa like a piece of cake with little regard of the indigenous people. That is how the Kenyan-Somalis found themselves in Kenya. I grow up with many migrants from Somali. We called them 'Wararo' or 'Waria' which was coined by the Somalis themselves. What these al-Qaeda terrorists splinter groups in Somali have done is to REPAY a good and generous friend with evil. They should re-think what they are doing to their own people as all the Aid workers and Kenyans are trying to help others Somalis at the Refugee Dadaab camp. Thank again. Go Kenya GO!!!
Kenyan government has taken very impressing step since this will ensure maximum security not only to Kenyans but also to the foreigners who were now trying to pull out their interest into Kenya because of just al shabaab.This also has shown that the government of Kenya is ready to defend its inhabitant as the nation anthem states.KENYAN GOVERNMENT KUDOS
Please Email the Editor