| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Horn |
| Kenya to act before Somalia threatens regional security |
| 2009-06-20 |
| [Beirut Daily Star: Region] Kenya will not sit by and allow the situation in neighboring Somalia to deteriorate further because it is a threat to regional stability, the country's foreign minister said on Friday. Hardline Islamist insurgents stepped up an offensive against Somalia's government last month and on Thursday killed the Horn of Africa country's security minister and at least 30 other people in a suicide car bomb attack. Kenya and other countries in the region, as well as Western nations, fear that if the chaos continues, groups with links to Al-Qaeda will become entrenched and threaten the stability of neighboring countries. "We will not sit by and watch the situation in Somalia deteriorate beyond where it is. We have a duty as a government to protect our strategic interests including our security," said Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula. "Kenya will do exactly that to ensure the unfolding developments in Somalia do not in any way undermine or affect our peace and security as a country," he told a news conference. Asked about any specific action, Wetangula said an international partnership was dealing with the issue of the insurgency and instability in Somalia and it would be inappropriate to discuss details. Wetangula's comments echoed a joint statement issued on Thursday by the European Union, the African Union, the Inter Governmental Agency on Development, the League of Arab States and the United Nations. "These extremists, both Somali and foreigners, are continuing their indiscriminate violence. They are a threat not only to the country, but to the IGAD region and the international community," the bodies said. |
| Posted by:Fred |