AMISOM needs to rethink strategy

Monday January 18, 2016

File:AMISOM Soldiers in Somalia

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THE al Shabaab attack on a remote compound where Kenyan soldiers were billeted in El-Adde, southwestern Somalia, is KDF’s single biggest setback since crossing the border in 2011.

We condole with the families of the KDF dead and injured and wish the latter a speedy recovery.

Asymmetrical terrorist warfare produces casualties on all sides, including in civilian populations and among superpower forces.

The KDF soldiers are part of the AU peacekeeping force Amisom, which includes soldiers from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti and Ethiopia.

A full and authoritative report from government on El-Adde and an indication of the way forward was agonisingly slow in coming (Shabaab struck as long ago as dawn on Friday).

Chief of Defence Forces Samson Mwathethe yesterday spoke of KDF soldiers being used as human shields by the terrorists and of the need to desist from divulging details that might compromise operational security.

Government needs to develop a structure of communicating with the public to avoid speculation. The state should manage information properly and promptly, in fact in real time.

Kenyans should not have to wait until the funeral notices to get an idea of how many perished. They should not have to rely on speculative foreign sources.

Amisom too must rethink its strategy against Shabaab – now, not 10 years down the road.

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