Oh right. They did. We ignored it.
A verbis ad verbera
Posted on 06/30/2009 8:35:31 PM PDT by Libloather
Somalia: Kenya Army Ready for Attack
25 June 2009
Nairobi — Kenya's military is preparing to protect its borders and refugees seeking a safe haven in the country following threats by extremists in Somalia to attack Nairobi.
The extremists, who have been fighting the Somalia government, have threatened to attack if Kenya sends its army to support the beleaguered transitional government. But the Kenyan military has been on high alert to prevent and -- if need be -- respond to any foreign attack.
At the same time, MPs on Thursday asked the government to close the border with Somalia and stop the movement of people from the war-torn Horn of Africa nation into Kenya.
The Parliamentary Committee on National Security described the threats by extremists as serious. "The threats require drastic action from the government," said committee chairman Fred Kapondi, who is also the MP for Mt Elgon.
Mr Kapondi said people flocking into the country from Somalia posed a major security threat and should be blocked from entering Kenya. He said his committee and that of Foreign Affairs and Defence would jointly petition the government to take drastic action to protect its borders.
The Islamic militants, backed by foreign al-Qaeda fighters have been battling to topple the embattled government of President Sheikh Sharrif. Fifteen Somali MPs have so far fled to Kenya and their government has declared a state of emergency and called for urgent military support from the international community, including its neighbours.
Unconfirmed reports said a "Zulu alert" has been declared in some military installations. The alert means the county is in danger of attack and requires soldiers to be ready for action. There were also reports that some bases had cancelled leave and off days for their soldiers.
One soldier told the Nation that the Chief of General Staff, General Jeremiah Kianga, addressed soldiers at Moi Airbase, Nairobi, shortly before he left for Rwanda and informed them of the new leave orders.
On Thursday, there were reports in Garissa that al-Shabaab, the main militant group in Somalia, had threatened to blow up a crucial bridge that links northern Kenya with the rest of the country to prevent deployment of troops.
A special police rapid response unit has since been sent to guard the bridge. All vehicles and passengers are being thoroughly searched. "Our security is on high alert," government spokesman Alfred Mutua said during the weekly briefing in Nairobi on Thursday. "Kenya will protect its citizens and the refugees near the border will be given the necessary comfort."
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad), which is chaired by President Kibaki, is expected to meet on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Sirte, Libya, on Monday. Igad has taken a hard line on the extremists and Eritrea, which is supporting them. Eritrea is mainly looking for a new theatre for its hostilities with Ethiopia, which in 2006 routed the Somalia Islamists. The two countries are technically in a state of war.
An Igad meeting of ministers towards the end of May petitioned the UN Security Council to impose sanctions against Eritrea, which is a member of Igad. Eritrea has denied US President Barrack Obama a visa, though the administration is willing to engage the African state in dialogue.
In North Eastern Province, which borders Somalia, security forces were working to thwart possible infiltrations and cross-border movements by Islamist fighters. Most police stations and police posts across the barren frontier had been reinforced, according to police sources.
Police checks along the Mandera-Nairobi road have also been tightened. "We are carrying out strict security measures as we are on alert following what is goings-on in Somalia," Wajir police boss Julius Kitili said. "We have intensified and tightened patrols."
There are fewer Somalis crossing the border illegally into Wajir as a result of the tighter controls. "We are now arresting an average of three Somalis a day. They are mostly arraigned in court and repatriated to their country," said Mr Kitili.
The Kenya Army has also increased its presence on the border, strangling the smuggling of sugar and other commodities from Somalia into Kenya.
Further down the border, the flow of refugees into camps has increased. According to the UNHCR, an estimated 200 refugees are crossing into Kenya every day. There are 275,000 Somali refugees in Kenya.
Meanwhile, Washington has sent weapons to the Somalia government after the go-ahead from the UN Security Council, sources told Reuters. When a moderate Islamist was elected president in January, there was hope he could end nearly two decades of bloodshed in Somalia by reconciling with hardliners who want to impose a strict version of Islamic law across Somalia.
But Osama bin Laden declared President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed an enemy in an audio tape released in March. He called on the insurgents to topple the government.
The Washington Post on Thursday said arms and ammunition had been sent to the Somalia government in a move signalling that President Obama's administration wanted to thwart the hardliners. "It's confirmed. They received approval from the UN Security Council," an international security source said.
While there is a UN arms embargo on Somalia, the source said the Security Council had agreed to a waiver procedure for the new weapons and ammunition.
Another foreign security source said arms had come into Somalia for the government via Uganda, which provides half the 4,300 African Union troops protecting key sites in Mogadishu.
Wonderful.... Any bets on how long until those weapons will be used against our service people overseas, or by pirates?
It is a dumb idea but it essentially continues Bush’s equally dumb policy of trying to prop up that government. Bush, after all, pretty much established that government in the first place via the U.S. funded Ethiopian invasion a couple of years ago.
Washington has sent weapons to Somalia’s government to thwart Islamist insurgents, who cut hands and feet off thieves yesterday and paraded the severed limbs in the streets of Mogadishu.
Shebaab insurgents are seen as a proxy for Al Qaeda and Western nations fear they could destabilise the region and provide safe havens for hardline Islamists from abroad.
Shebaab, which has foreign fighters in its ranks, stepped up attacks in May and now controls most of south Somalia and all but a few blocks of the capital Mogadishu.
The rebels used long knives to cut off a hand and a foot each from four young men in Mogadishu as punishment for theft, witnesses said.
It was the first double amputation in Somalia.
The men screamed in pain, and some spectators vomited.
Shebaab later hung the severed limbs from trees and electricity polls. “The horrific nature of such acts that were carried out in front of a crowd adds further injustice and dehumanises these teenagers,” rights group Amnesty International said.
Shebaab has carried out executions, floggings and single-limb amputations before, mainly in the southern port of Kismayu.
Movies and soccer games are banned in areas it controls while men and women cannot travel together on public transport.
Shebaab’s strict practices have shocked many Somalis, who are traditionally moderate, although residents give the insurgents credit for restoring order to regions they control.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=299397&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21
Obama’s BC lost in Kenya after war.How cute.
How far away from there is that Chinese ship with weapons we refuse to board?
Ruh-roh!
“Washington has sent weapons to Somalia’s government to thwart Islamist insurgents,”.............
Next thing hitlery will be blabbing is, that they are getting those weapons from the gun shows and napolitano will swear to it.
Oh right. They did. We ignored it.
Uh, what’s wrong with this picture?
Since BOZerO has been in office looks like the world is exploding with confrontations all over the globe. Maybe they just didn’t hear his Cairo speech-—yeh..thats it!
Let Kenya have Somalia! They can rule the place and use the “skinnies” there as slaves for all I care. There is no Somalia and there hasn’t been one for years, just waring tribes and warlords. The strip of land would be better controlled by any number of nations. Even, I hate to say this, the Taliban or Ben Laden could offer a better government than they have—Zero government. I just don’t care anymore.
Weren’t they the people Pelosi had something to do with regarding tuna fish?
We are sending the Somalis weapons??!! Every household in Somalia has two AK 47s and a cupboard filled with RPGs.
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