Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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The British government has pledged to increase its funding to countries in East Africa in a bit to boost security in the region. Acting British envoy to Kenya Dr. Peter Tibber says the ongoing war in Somalia is a threat to the region's stability and requires concerted international efforts to bring it to an end.
He was speaking in Nairobi during the opening of the 5th regional senior mission leaders' course Monday.
Meanwhile, Deputy Army commander Major-General Maurice Oyugi says the ongoing fight against Al shabaab is complex adding that terrorist groups have advanced their criminal activities.
Speaking at the same forum, Major General Oyugi said insurgents have access to lethal technologies and expressed the need for security agents to be well trained to counter such activities.
The forum brings together senior military officers, civilian and regular police from the East African region to reflect on the challenges and solutions to the conflict in the region and in particular Somalia.
Elsewhere, Kenya Defense Force says that the Al-Shabaab militia group has resorted to forcing Somali citizens to hold demonstrations in areas under their control to show the world that they support the militants' merger with Al-Qaeda.
KDF says that the move has no implication to the ongoing operation to eradicate the militia terming the merger announcement as mere propaganda.
Speaking to KBC on phone Monday, military spokesman Emmanuel Chirchir said that KDF and the transitional federal government of Somalia forces have managed to weaken the militia group a move that has prompted Alshabaab to find alternative ways of survival.
Last week an Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri announced the union between his terror group and Alshabaab in a video message.