Thursday, April 10, 2014

Kenya’s Main Opposition Calls for Troop-Exit Plan From Somalia
Kenyan Defense Forces occupying Kismayo in southern Somalia.
By Eric Ombok - Apr 10, 2014

Kenya’s opposition Orange Democratic Movement party called on the government to start planning to bring the country’s troops home from Somalia amid deteriorating domestic security.

The East African nation has faced increasing attacks, including a raid by al-Shabaab gunmen on a shopping mall in the capital last year that killed at least 67 people, since the country’s incursion in Somalia in 2011 to oust the insurgents.

Kenyan authorities began the most recent security crackdown on April 4 after gunmen killed at least six worshipers at a church near the port city of Mombasa and six people died in a triple explosion in Nairobi in March.

“Given the Somalia aspect to our security problems, we are asking the government give us the timetable of withdrawing from Somalia,” acting ODM leader Peter Anyang Nyong’otold reporters today in Nairobi.

“We are not saying we should declare victory and leave. We are not saying we sneak out. We want to see a plan for a systematic handing over of Somalia to its citizens.” He declined to recommend a timeline for the troops to exit.

The government as of yesterday had deported 82 ethnic Somalis and charged 69 others as part of Operation Usalama, centered in Nairobi’s Somali district, Eastleigh, and the Muslim-dominated port city of Mombasa. At least 3,000 people have been rounded up during the raids to check for their legal standing and any criminal history, according to the police.

Humane Treatment

The UN Refugee Agency has expressed concern over the detentions and appealed for the “humane and non-discriminatory” treatment of those being held at a sports stadium and police stations.

Profiling suspects on ethnic, racial and religious grounds risks sparking a wider conflict, said Nyong’o.

“We wish to express strong displeasure at the swoops going on today,” he said. “We do not think indiscriminate picking of Somalis is the answer.”

Kenya has 3,664 security personnel serving in the 22,126-strong African Union Mission in Somalia. Defence Secretary Raychelle Omamo has said that it’s a “decisive year” in the battle against al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Ombok in Nairobi at eombok@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net Sarah McGregor, Michael Gunn

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