KENYA GOVERNMENT IN CRUCIAL MEETING OVER CRISIS IN SOMALIA
Kanini Evans Kariuki
June 25, 2009
COME on and gather together to find a way out..............for this is a..........trinitrotoluene..........!!!
Somalia is on fire. The Horn of Africa nation is troubled. For 19 years now!
Powerful explosions erupt. The staccato burst of machine gun fire shatters the air. Endless battles on the battered battle grounds rage.
Blood oozes a merciless trickle. Profusely. Humanity in Somalia, yes war-ravaged Somalia, is threatened with decimation.
Groans of pain rent the air..........Screams of grief break the peace, the silence. The what?..........the everything..............the world in Somalia turns upside down..................everything is blasted into smithereens.........hell breaks loose................
Wails of frustration...........wails of despair pour out.........to the pinnacle of what?.................paranoia?
Disillusioned Somali civilians flee to seek sanctuary in their sister states. Others in.....far-away lands...........a vicious cycle of events?
Countless Somalis are killed.........hundreds maimed...........thousands get displaced............Crying shame?
Even the VIPS are not spared. Some of them are killed. Killed by suicide bombers. Some of them are forced to flee.Flee from their motherland. Some of them are left...........confused.............at sea about it all?
And fear hangs over the heads of the innocent.........fleeing Somali citizens like what?.............The Sword of Damocles?....................
Disagreement, confusion and chaos reign.
Uncertainty takes center stage.
Is Somalia pregnant? Is Somalia on the throes of giving birth to a new republic? Will Somalia President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed maintain his hold on to power? Will the status quo remain? Will the Radical groups triumph? Will they collapse?
In the face of this instability in Somalia that has caused a lot of brouhaha in the world,threatening to spill over the East African region, the Kenya government held a crucial security meeting on June 24th this year.
Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki chaired the crucial meeting of the National Security committee to deliberate on the worsening situation in Somalia.
Details of the meeting at the President's Harambee House office, which came in the wake of an upsurge of violence in Mogadishu resulting in President Sharif declaring a State of Emergency were, however, scanty.
It was attended by among others, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Defence Minister Yusuf Haji, his Internal Security counterpart George Saitoti,Chief of General Staff Gen Jeremiah Kianga, the director of the National Security Intelligence Service Micheal Gichangi and the director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Gatiba Karanja. Police Commissioner Maj Gen Hussein Ali, who sits in the committee, was said to be on an official trip overseas.
There were reports that military presence at Kenya´s border with Somalia was to be scaled up to avert any threat from the Al-Shabaab militia, which the United States says has links with the al-Qaeda terror outfit.
Speaking elsewhere,Internal Security assistant minister Orwa Ojode said Kenya´s security agencies are on high alert and that more troops will be taken to the border despite threats from the insurgents.
"I actually do not think that the presence of Kenyan forces along the Kenya/Somalia border will compromise security in the country,´´ he told journalists after a disaster management breakfast meeting at a Nairobi hotel.
The latest developments come at a time when the situation in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation has degenerated to a level where even Members of parliament have begun fleeing to Kenya and other countries, disabling its operations.
The Speaker of the Somali parliament Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur at the weekend called on Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen to send troops within 24 hours to help salvage the Transitional Federal Government.
While Ethiopia declined,contending that there was need for an international mandate before deployment, Raila Odinga, speaking during a meeting with his Somalia counterpart Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake, made it clear that Kenya is yet to make a decision on how it can assist.
He,however,cited African Union and Inter-Governmental Authority on Development which bars member countries from interfering in the internal affairs of its neighbors.
It is not clear if the issue came up for consideration,especially in the wake of threats by the Al-Shabaab militia to the effect that it would launch suicide attacks in Nairobi should Kenya´s military intervene to stop the insurgency.
The insurgents have renewed their threat vowing to fight any foreign troops who try to prop up the Somalia administration that is under onslaught on a near-daily basis.
"We will fight any troops who are deployed in our country", said Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, whose Islamic Party has been fighting alongside Al-Shabaab,another extremist Islamist group in a bid to oust President Sharif's government.
He added that the "so- called government…controls only small pockets (of the capital)".Interesting that is! When will this hooha and haha come to an end?
Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991 when the overthrow of the Siad Barre-led regime plunged the country into chaos.
A surge in violence in recent weeks, which diplomats said is a major push by the insurgents to force the government out of its Mogadishu stronghold, has left about 225 people dead.
Very important personalities among them the National Security minister Col Hashi Aden and Mogadishu´s police chief were among those killed.
The country´s lawlessness has spread security fears around the region and raised concerns that al-Qaeda is trying to gain a foothold in the Horn of Africa.This is a matter of grave concern.
Nearly 126,000 people have fled their homes since May 7 this year according to the UN refugee agency.
The United Nations says an estimated 3.2 million Somalis- almost half the country´s population-need food and other humanitarian aid.
Two years ago, Ethiopia deployed troops to support Somalia´s government, but they were widely unpopular and finally withdrawn in January.
That was inevitable in the face of the fact that their continued presence in Somalia would have been counter-productive.
In Kenya, the crucial Security meeting which was presided over by President Kibaki is a signals sending gesture that the government is on high alert,ready to counter any possible skirmish should the worst come to the worst in Somalia.
Talk of sprucing itself up to the nines?
The Kenya government does not want to start limping after reality,as Leo Trotsky would have said.
Somalia is on fire. The Horn of Africa nation is troubled. For 19 years now!
Powerful explosions erupt. The staccato burst of machine gun fire shatters the air. Endless battles on the battered battle grounds rage.
Blood oozes a merciless trickle. Profusely. Humanity in Somalia, yes war-ravaged Somalia, is threatened with decimation.
Groans of pain rent the air..........Screams of grief break the peace, the silence. The what?..........the everything..............the world in Somalia turns upside down..................everything is blasted into smithereens.........hell breaks loose................
Wails of frustration...........wails of despair pour out.........to the pinnacle of what?.................paranoia?
Disillusioned Somali civilians flee to seek sanctuary in their sister states. Others in.....far-away lands...........a vicious cycle of events?
Countless Somalis are killed.........hundreds maimed...........thousands get displaced............Crying shame?
Even the VIPS are not spared. Some of them are killed. Killed by suicide bombers. Some of them are forced to flee.Flee from their motherland. Some of them are left...........confused.............at sea about it all?
And fear hangs over the heads of the innocent.........fleeing Somali citizens like what?.............The Sword of Damocles?....................
Disagreement, confusion and chaos reign.
Uncertainty takes center stage.
Is Somalia pregnant? Is Somalia on the throes of giving birth to a new republic? Will Somalia President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed maintain his hold on to power? Will the status quo remain? Will the Radical groups triumph? Will they collapse?
In the face of this instability in Somalia that has caused a lot of brouhaha in the world,threatening to spill over the East African region, the Kenya government held a crucial security meeting on June 24th this year.
Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki chaired the crucial meeting of the National Security committee to deliberate on the worsening situation in Somalia.
Details of the meeting at the President's Harambee House office, which came in the wake of an upsurge of violence in Mogadishu resulting in President Sharif declaring a State of Emergency were, however, scanty.
It was attended by among others, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Defence Minister Yusuf Haji, his Internal Security counterpart George Saitoti,Chief of General Staff Gen Jeremiah Kianga, the director of the National Security Intelligence Service Micheal Gichangi and the director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Gatiba Karanja. Police Commissioner Maj Gen Hussein Ali, who sits in the committee, was said to be on an official trip overseas.
There were reports that military presence at Kenya´s border with Somalia was to be scaled up to avert any threat from the Al-Shabaab militia, which the United States says has links with the al-Qaeda terror outfit.
Speaking elsewhere,Internal Security assistant minister Orwa Ojode said Kenya´s security agencies are on high alert and that more troops will be taken to the border despite threats from the insurgents.
"I actually do not think that the presence of Kenyan forces along the Kenya/Somalia border will compromise security in the country,´´ he told journalists after a disaster management breakfast meeting at a Nairobi hotel.
The latest developments come at a time when the situation in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation has degenerated to a level where even Members of parliament have begun fleeing to Kenya and other countries, disabling its operations.
The Speaker of the Somali parliament Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur at the weekend called on Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen to send troops within 24 hours to help salvage the Transitional Federal Government.
While Ethiopia declined,contending that there was need for an international mandate before deployment, Raila Odinga, speaking during a meeting with his Somalia counterpart Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake, made it clear that Kenya is yet to make a decision on how it can assist.
He,however,cited African Union and Inter-Governmental Authority on Development which bars member countries from interfering in the internal affairs of its neighbors.
It is not clear if the issue came up for consideration,especially in the wake of threats by the Al-Shabaab militia to the effect that it would launch suicide attacks in Nairobi should Kenya´s military intervene to stop the insurgency.
The insurgents have renewed their threat vowing to fight any foreign troops who try to prop up the Somalia administration that is under onslaught on a near-daily basis.
"We will fight any troops who are deployed in our country", said Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, whose Islamic Party has been fighting alongside Al-Shabaab,another extremist Islamist group in a bid to oust President Sharif's government.
He added that the "so- called government…controls only small pockets (of the capital)".Interesting that is! When will this hooha and haha come to an end?
Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991 when the overthrow of the Siad Barre-led regime plunged the country into chaos.
A surge in violence in recent weeks, which diplomats said is a major push by the insurgents to force the government out of its Mogadishu stronghold, has left about 225 people dead.
Very important personalities among them the National Security minister Col Hashi Aden and Mogadishu´s police chief were among those killed.
The country´s lawlessness has spread security fears around the region and raised concerns that al-Qaeda is trying to gain a foothold in the Horn of Africa.This is a matter of grave concern.
Nearly 126,000 people have fled their homes since May 7 this year according to the UN refugee agency.
The United Nations says an estimated 3.2 million Somalis- almost half the country´s population-need food and other humanitarian aid.
Two years ago, Ethiopia deployed troops to support Somalia´s government, but they were widely unpopular and finally withdrawn in January.
That was inevitable in the face of the fact that their continued presence in Somalia would have been counter-productive.
In Kenya, the crucial Security meeting which was presided over by President Kibaki is a signals sending gesture that the government is on high alert,ready to counter any possible skirmish should the worst come to the worst in Somalia.
Talk of sprucing itself up to the nines?
The Kenya government does not want to start limping after reality,as Leo Trotsky would have said.
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