The United States is increasing regional instability

Ally Jamah

The United States says it has supplied huge quantities of weapons to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia to help it defeat Islamist groups seeking to topple it and replace it with a strict Islamic state.

This worrying move highlights the negative role that the US is playing in the region, increasing instability and affecting our country’s security. The worlds’ superpower is adding fuel to the fire of the conflict in Somalia. The weapons supply means another devastating cycle of violence, more lives lost and property destroyed.

Previously, the conflict in Somalia has been characterised by use of small arms such as machine guns, grenades and rocket-propelled grenades. But with the entry of the US, far deadlier weapons will come into play resulting in more deaths and displacements.

The United Nations estimates that more than a million people have been displaced in and around the capital Mogadishu due to previous fighting and 20,000 have been killed. Kenya is likely to see a fresh wave of refugees into the country, adding to the 300,000 that we are struggling to host.

The American weapons being supplied are likely to find their way into our country sooner or later, making Kenyans’ lives more insecure.

This shipment is not new: The US has been supplying deadly weapons to various groups in Somalia in pursuit of its selfish strategic interests. In 2006, the US sparked a major war in the country when it started supplying weapons and cash to warlords to fight leaders controlling various parts of Mogadishu and running courts based on Islamic principles. These supplies were coming directly from Nairobi.

Heavy toll

The warlords, calling named themselves The Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, began a series of battles with the Islamic groups, which they lost with a heavy death toll on civilians. When the Islamic courts took power in the Mogadishu and surrounding regions, the US began supplying weapons to Ethiopia and encouraged it to invade its neighbour to root out "terrorists".

The Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somali that resulted led to what UN officials termed as "the worst humanitarian disaster in the world." The urban warfare killed tens of thousands of civilians and uprooted half of Mogadishu’s residents from their homes. The Somali capital was also laid to waste as Ethiopian troops used heavy artillery in residential and commercial districts. As a result, International Human Rights Group has accused Ethiopia of war crimes and has hinted at future prosecutions.

During this time, the US also carried out direct air strikes inside Somalia in which hundreds of innocent civilians lost their lives and property.

The US, through its media, has also been actively inciting Kenya to invade Somalia, alleging Islamist groups represent a threat to the security of the country if they are allowed to rise to power to Somalia. The massive US propaganda machine has even alleged that Al-Shabaab plan to explode bombs in Kenya or annex North Eastern Province. Fortunately, our leaders have exercised good judgment by refusing to be drawn into the conflict.

The US is also still bullying Kenya to sign a bilateral agreement that will shield American soldiers accused of war crimes from the International Criminal Court (ICC). She has placed our Government in an awkward situation by threatening to cut off Sh800 million of military aid, even though the agreement is widely unpopular in Kenya. This incident has revealed how little US cares for our sovereignty.

Similarly, the US is responsible for raising tensions between the Government and the Muslim community, which previously did not exist. US intelligence agents are known to direct local operations to arrest "suspected terrorists". The Americans are pushing Kenya to pass anti-terrorism laws that human rights groups say trample civil liberties of fellow citizens.

All these incidents reveal that the US is not playing a positive role in this part of Africa (at least on security issues) and appears to be interested in advancing its national interests at our expense. Ordinary Americans are unaware of what their government is doing. It is time they woke up. More importantly, it is time Kenyans woke up to the fact that the US is contributing to Africa’s destabilisation.

The writer is a news reporter with the Standard Group.