Sunday, February 05, 2012
Kenya Defense Force (KDF) Director of Military Operations Information Colonel Cyrus Oguna called on the youths who had been radicalised by the militia group to take advantage of amnesty and surrender.
"Those who want to defect can report to the nearest police station so that they can be processed and integrated into the society as the amnesty is still on and there will be no punishment, " Oguna said during the weekly media briefing on Saturday.
"Alternatively, they can report to any mosque where the Imams can escort him or her to the nearest police station," he said.
Several young people are said to have been recruited into the militia group and even crossed the border into neighboring Somalia for training in arms operation and terrorist attacks.
Oguna said that the youth would be rehabilitated and integrated into mainstream Kenyan society after owning up.
He added that those who are still in Somalia can report to the nearest KDF or Transitional Federal Government (TFG) Army commander, if they want to surrender.
In November last year, the Kenya police has given amnesty to more than 30 young men who have had links with the Al-Shabaab, three weeks after promising reprieve to those who surrender.
Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said then that the police are working with the youth to ensure that Al-Shabaab activities have been neutralised inside the country.
During the briefing, Oguna said that following the capture of two key towns in southern Somalia this week, incidences of terrorists attacks that have being occurring in Northeastern part of Kenya are set to decrease.
Oguna said that following intense pressure on the Al-Shabaab militants inside Somalia, the KDF has displaced the militants from some of their former strongholds.
"These two towns, Hosingho and Badhade have been important trading routes for contraband as well as source of the improved explosive devices (IED) that have been used to carry out terrorist attacks inside Kenya," Oguna said.
Oguna’s statement comes after the KDF killed at least 100 fighters including eight top Al-Shabaab commanders in the latest battle in the small town of Dalayat, North East of Badhade, a key transit point from the sea frequently used by the group to re- stock its military supplies.
The Kenyan helicopter gunships on Friday hit at Al-Shabaab positions, which included 200 Al-Shabaab fighters, one of the largest concentrations of the Al-Shabaab fighters, killing at least 100 fighters and destroying nine technicals and nine trucks used by the fighters.
The Kenyan troops had advanced into the town of Badhade and Hayo in Southern Somalia, boosting their chances for a successful battle for the port of Kismayu and the town of Afmadhow, a provincial capital and a key hub of the Al-Shabaab, which is one of the main ultimate targets of the operation.
The latest seizure of towns amid reports that an alleged Al- Qaeda member from London is reported to have been killed in a missile attack from a U.S. drone while fighting alongside Islamist insurgents in Somalia last month.
An Al-Shabaab spokesman identified the fighter as British passport holder Bilal al-Berjawi.
He said drone-fired missiles hit Berjawi’s car south of Mogadishu on Jan 29.
There has been no independent confirmation.
Sources say Washington has authorized covert missions against insurgents in the Horn of Africa, but does not comment officially on drone attacks.
Berjawi’s reported killing came a day after Somalia’s transitional government announced a major push to rid Mogadishu of Al-Shabaab militants.
The 27-year-old’s wife is reportedly understood to have given birth to a child in a London hospital a few hours before the missile strike, prompting suspicions among relatives that his location had been pinpointed as a result of a telephone conversation between the couple.
Oguna said on Saturday the recent capture of two towns and killing of at least 100 fighters will significantly reduce the revenue stream going into Al-Shabaab.
"With this loss, we expect Al-Shabaab to be ceding more ground to the KDF and TFG alliance as they retreat towards central Somalia," he said.
"The towns have been convergence points for the route that supplies smuggled electronics and sugar that ends up inside Kenya without being charged import duty," Oguna said.
He added that the KDF got intelligence from the locals that the Al-Shabaab were planning to attack KDF and instead used the information to capture the two critical towns which the militants have been using as a positions to attack KDF.
He added that the capture of the captured Hosingo and Badade towns will be critical to the stabilization of the southern part of Somalia that has been under the control of the Islamic militants.
"During the attack nine vehicles and nine technicals belonging to the militants were attacked and destroyed," Oguna said.
He added that the latest seizure of towns will lend to the stability in homeland security inside Kenya.
"The towns have been acting as an important supply route for the IEDs that have used to attack innocent civilians inside Kenya and especially in the refugees camps," he added.
Oguna said that morale among the KDF is very high following the success they have gotten on the ground.
"The troops understand their mission inside Somalia and know the troops are part of history as this is the first time that Kenyan troops have crossed the border in pursuit of an enemy," Oguna said.
He also assured the families of the two kidnapped government officials who are still being held by the Al-Shabaab that the government was still working on the various leads in order to return them alive.
"We hope the efforts put by the government will be successful but what is critical is their safety and security," he added.
Kenya Police deputy spokesman Charles Owino urged Kenyans to remain vigilant as the increased pressure on Al-Shabaab by the KDF inside Somalia will force them to increase attacks in Kenya.
"We request for more vigilance inside Kenya as Al-Shabaab sees the country as soft target," Owino said.
There has been a string of attacks by Al-Shabaab militants and their sympathizers since Kenya sent troops into Somalia on October last year to restrain the insurgents who were blamed for a series of murders and kidnappings on the Kenya soil with Daadab district which hosts the refugee camps being one of the worst hit by the attacks.
Source: Xinhua