EU backs Kenya's war against Al Shabaab

By Standard Team

The European Union (EU) has backed Kenya’s war against Al Shabaab, as the diplomatic offensive continued to gain support.

Speaking in Brussels, 27 Foreign Affairs ministers — who make up the EU Foreign Affairs Council — also strongly condemned terror attacks in Kenya by members of Al Shabaab group.

The unprovoked attacks, which also violated Kenya’s territorial integrity has seen, among others, the kidnapping of European citizens.

On Tuesday, the EU called for their immediate release.

"Such attacks threaten not just neighbouring countries but the international community as a whole," said the statement. US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson also asked Kenya and Ethiopia to work together with Amisom troops to defeat Al Shabaab.

The EU Foreign Affairs ministers welcomed efforts to counter Al Shabaab threat, which were consistent with international law.

They also called for the protection of civilians and safeguarding of humanitarian access in accordance with international humanitarian principles. The EU move comes a month after the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) launched an onslaught in Somalia in the hunt for members of the militia group following attacks on its citizens and kidnapping of tourists.

A recent appeal to the international community by the KDF and TFG to give humanitarian assistance — ranging from food to medication in towns liberated from the grip of Al Qaeda-linked group — was also discussed.

"The EU appeals to all concerned that international humanitarian actors should be given free and safe access to all in need of assistance. The EU will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable population and encourages others to do so," said the joint statement.

The EU called for further efforts to streamline and strengthen the co-ordination of all actors and international donors in Somalia.

They said the establishment of the proposed Joint TFG-Donor Financial Management Board needs urgent attention.

The EU said military action alone would not create lasting security in Somalia and underlined the need for co-ordination of military and security operations in Somalia with the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the Inter-Governmental Agency for Development, the African Union, and the United Nations to ensure that military action against Al Shabaab is consolidated to ensure sustainable peace.

Meanwhile, other reports indicated that an unidentified fighter jet bombed the outskirts of an Al Shabaab-controlled village in southern Somalia on Tuesday, killing at least one person. Local people said the village in the Gedo region, which borders Kenya and Ethiopia, was a known rebel hideout.

"A warplane struck the village of Yaqle. We don’t know if there were any Al Shabaab casualties, but the body of an elderly nomadic woman lay on the ground," Amina Ali, a resident who rushed to the blast site, told Reuters.

Another witness, Mahmud Ali, said he heard an explosion from his home in El Ade about 4km away and then saw a plume of smoke rise into the sky before he too scrambled to Yaqle.

Ethiopia sent dozens of military trucks and armoured vehicles into central Somalia over the weekend, witnesses said. Addis Ababa publicly denies deploying ground forces across the frontier.

— Additional reporting by Reuters