Under
the chairmanship of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, the main role of
EASF is seen as fighting the conflict in Somalia, and is expected to
have the full support of its various governments.
The
truth is, the formation of an Eastern African Standby Force in response
to the threat of the Al-Shabaab group is neither novel concept nor
unexpected.
The Harakat Al-Shabaab Mujahideen (HSM)
group, an Islamic extremist group that seeks to set up an Islamic state
in Somalia, was formed as the militant wing of the Islamic Courts Union
(ICU), which at the time controlled much of central and southern
Somalia.
Since the ICU lost power, Al-Shabaab has waged
a relentless war against the then Somali Transitional Government, its
successive established regimes and its Ethiopian supporters, with
fighting escalating from May 2009.
In 2007, the
formation of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) under the
auspices of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council , as
documented in Security Council Resolution 1744 (2007) meant that the
troubled Somali Transitional Government now had the support of an AU-led
peace keeping force.
CROSS BORDER ATTACKS
Al-Shabaab
claimed its first terror attack outside Somali borders in June 2010 in
Uganda during the World Cup finals, in which 70 people were killed and
several injured. At the time Al-Shabaab threatened additional attacks if
Uganda and other AU Countries did not withdraw AMISOM peace keeping
troops.
At the time, the AMISOM mission was meant to
last only 6 months, a temporary measure intended to support what it was
hoped would be a quickly stabilized government. The 6-month deadline
came and passed without this being accomplished.
By
October 2011, it was clear that the Al-Shabaab group was a bigger threat
to neighbouring Kenya after consistent cross border attacks left
several people dead. In response, Kenya launched “Operation Linda Nchi” a
military incursion by the Kenya Defense Forces into Somalia.
It
is this particular act that seems to have refocused Al-Shabaab’s
onslaught to Kenya. Since 2011, attacks within Kenyan borders have
increased in frequency and intensity, with people being killed in
attacks on ‘soft’ targets such as churches, shopping malls, markets and
public vehicles. After the recent killings in Lamu the terrorist group
warned the government of further attacks.
The decision by Mr Lenku to label the attacks
on Mpeketoni as politically instigated and targeted at a particular
ethnic community was strange, and also indicative of the distracted
manner in which the entire ministry has approached the war on
Al-Shabaab.
Make no mistake, Kenya is at war, and the
use of the Eastern African Standby Force is an indication that this war
is greater than the Kenya government cares to admit. The EASF is likely
to provide a succinct “punch” against the forces of Al-Shabaab.
However,
much like AMISOM and “Operation Linda Nchi”, without a complimentary
“block” in the internal structures of the concerned nations, terror
groups may be able to hit back.
We can visibly see the
effects of years of corruption in the police service especially. It is
certainly necessarily to thoroughly examine the management of the police
service and to extract the elements that hinder its success.
Twitter: @bettywaitherero
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