Somalia Accuses Kenya of Hosting and Arming Militia to Attack its Army Bases

Somalia Accuses Kenya of Hosting and Arming Militia to Attack its Army Bases

The Somali government has accused Kenya of hatching a plot destabilize the country.

In a statement on Saturday, Somalia’s Information Ministry claimed that Kenya was hosting a militia in Mandera and was arming it with an aim of staging an attack on its soil.

The ministry said the Somali government has received intelligence reports that Kenya was planning to attack Somali army bases in the border town of Beled-Hawo.

Somalia warned Kenya against such “aggression and illegal actions” that could undermine the region’s stability.

“The Federal Government of Somalia will take all necessary steps to ensure its political independence, territorial integrity, and protection of the dignity of the people,” the statement reads in part.

“It reiterates once again that the blatant interferences in the internal affairs of Somalia can potentially create instability as well as affect the security of the region,” it states further.

Last week, Somalia announced it had cut diplomatic ties with Kenya over alleged violation of her territorial integrity. 

It accused Kenya of constantly meddling in Somalia’s internal and political affairs and recalled all Somali diplomats back to Mogadishu and ordered all Kenyan diplomatic officials to leave the country within 7 days.

The move followed President Kenyatta’s meeting with Somaliland President Musa Bihi Abdi and his delegation at State House, Nairobi.

Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs downplayed Bihi’s visit to Nairobi, stating that Somaliland has no legitimacy to deal directly with Kenya.

“Muse Bihi’s visit to Nairobi undermines the sovereignty of Somalia and must be treated with the contempt it deserves,” the ministry stated.

Last month, Somalia also expelled Kenyan Ambassador to Mogadishu Lucas Tumbo over allegations that Kenya was interfering with the upcoming elections. 

Kenya’s government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna indicated that a committee was established to solve the diplomatic tension between the two nations.

"We have so much commonality and any threats to that should be resolved. There are discussions taking place to ensure the relationships are normalized,” Oguna said.

 

Comments

Guest #13 (not verified)     Sat, 12/19/2020 @ 08:20pm

This is spiraling out of control and kenya needs to be careful. Imagine if Sonko declared Nairobi to be independent and then Tanzania hosted him as a head of state. Kenya is a very fragmented country and we need our leaders to be careful.

Maxiley (not verified)     Sun, 12/20/2020 @ 12:31am

What region's stability is Somalia talking about?.So to them Alshabab crossing into Kenya,causing mayhem, death,and distruction of property is contribution to stability?
I have never had of Kenyans doing such a thing.
My guess is that,if the militia rumor is true,Somalis are behind it.

kim (not verified)     Sun, 12/20/2020 @ 01:00am

Somali has five semi autonomous states.The states are semi-autonomous because the government in Mogadishu has been unable to exert much control over the regional somali state governments.There is conflict between the Somali Federal govt and the Somali States.It looks like the Somali Federal Govt is trying to project power onto the states,but there is push back from the states.It appears that Kenya which has troops in Somalia, is supporting the states, and this is the crux of the problem between Kenya and the Somali Federal Govt.
Apparently this current crisis is due to Kenya's relationship with Jubaland. It seems like Kenya is close to the Jubaland Leader Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe. Kenya is close to Madobe because ;he helped KDF to capture several Al-shabaab strongholds including Kismayo, Kenya has been using Jubaland as a buffer zone for the Al-Shabaab War,Kenya has close to 3,500 soldiers who are mainly stationed in Sector II and VI within Jubaland,the troops work closely with the Madobe administration, hence the frequent conflict between Kenya and the Somali Federal Govt, which dates back to 2011 when KDF invaded Somalia.
Somalia is scheduled to have elections in December 2020 and February 2021,parliamentary and presidential respectively.
Jubaland leader Madobe has warned against elections in the Gedo region,arguing that the Somali federal government had violated the september deal that was signed in Mogadishu.The Somali Federal Govt is saying that Madobe reneged on the election agreement reached on sept 17 as a result of Kenya govt's political interference.
Madobe, a key ally of Nairobi, insisted that the elections scheduled from December 2020 couldn't go on in Jubaland, arguing that the Somali federal government is yet to withdraw troops and hand over several administrations to Jubaland leadership in Gedo. This was one of the agreements in September.
Apparently Madobe gave this statement after going to Nairobi for several days and then returning to Kismayo.
Last year, Mr Madobe was supported by Kenya to win his election bid as the regional president, against opposition from President Mohamed and Ethiopia.
The Somali Government then imposed air travel restrictions between Kismayo, Jubbaland's biggest city, and Mogadishu, which badly affected business in the state, as ground transport is unsafe because of al-Shabab.
Somalia's leader has a close interest in who is in power in the states, as they determine the people who pick the MPs from the state, who in turn elect the president.
This may change as Mr Mohamed recently signed a historic law that paves the way for the country to hold its first one- person - one vote election in half a century, although this may not be possible in all areas because of the security situation.
In addition to this Jubaland conflict there is ; 1)The conflict and controversy about the Indian Ocean maritime border, 2)The whole situation about the meeting with the Somaliland leader after the Somali Federal Govt cut diplomatic ties with Nairobi, and 3) There is also a conflict that relates to the fact that Somali banned the importation of Khat (Miraa) which we know is a major cash crop in Kenya.

MLACHAKE (not verified)     Sun, 12/20/2020 @ 07:44am

Somalia’s grand scheme is clear - it’s ratcheting up tensions with war in mind. Kenya be warned
The next major war, the next biggest military threat Kenya faces is Somalia. May take place in the next few years or 20 years, who knows. It’s only a matter of time but it’ll definitely happen

Kora kanini (not verified)     Sun, 12/20/2020 @ 08:56am

Damn it true, LIONS gave birth to cats.
We need to show SOMALIA that we have the means and capability of wiping them out.

Kim (not verified)     Sun, 12/20/2020 @ 12:59pm

I was talking to a friend of mine who is Somali and I was asking him. From his point of view. What is the problem in Somalia right now and what can be done to solve the problem. I will try to articulate my understanding of what he said. By the way my friend had lived in Kenya in the Dadaab Camp so he has a concept of Kenyan Politics as well.
So he said that the current Somalia President Mr Mohamed commonly referred to as "Farmarjo" is very popular in Somalia. Farmajo is projecting a significant amount of Power as the leader of the Somali Federal Govt in Somalia. Apparently Farmajo is set to win the upcoming Federal elections.
The problem is that the leader of Jubaland, Mr Madobe ,is refusing to allow the parliamentary elections that are set to take place in December 2020. Therefore Farmajo does not like Madobe. Farmajo has his own people that are loyal to the Somalia Federal Govt that he wants to put as the leader of Jubaland.
Now this is where Kenya comes into the problem. Kenya is propping up Mr Madobe. Remember we have troops mostly in Jubaland.
This is why we are being accused of political interference.
What my friend said is that Uhuru (the Kenya Govt) is not taking the best possible posture in this situation.
Given that we are neighbors' with Somalia. Somali's actually want a good relationship with Kenya for many reasons that many people have articulated in many forums.
I think the solution here maybe for Kenya to stop supporting the states too much and just allow Somalia Politics to play out in according to the wishes of Somali People. If the Somali People want more power to be projected at the central Somali Federal Govt, then Kenya needs to allow that to happen. Remember we have alot of power in Somalia because of our military and political influence there. Therefore the more overbearing we appear to be, the more of a response we will get from the Somalia Federal Govt.
I am not an expert on this topic. This are just my thoughts on the topic.

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