Counter-Terrorism: Somali Terrorists Head For Kenya

Archives

December 2, 2008: The government of Kenya is increasingly concerned with threats made by Somali Islamist radicals, particularly the Al-Shebaab movement. Since early October al-Shebaab has said that it will fight "a jihad" in Kenya if Kenya does not end its training program for the Somali Transitional National Government (TNG). Kenyan security forces have agreed to help train 10,000 new TNG soldiers.

There are other reasons to take the threats seriously. The government has reported that Kenyan security personnel (likely the national police) have discovered "communications equipment" that it believes were used "to coordinate illegal border crossings" from Somalia.

Refugees from Somalia are a big problem, and it's easy to slip terrorists across the border in a wave of refugees. "Several hundred thousand" (one source said a half million, but that's a guess) displaced persons have collected along the Somalia-Kenya border. --Austin Bay