Moses Wetangula said late Friday that Kenya’s incursion into Somalia has already made tremendous progress against the Al-Shabab militant group which Kenya blames for a string of kidnappings on Kenyan soil.
Wetangula spoke after attending a meeting of East Africa’s Inter Governmental Authority for Development, also known as IGAD, on the Somali issue.
Kenya last weekend sent troops into Somalia to wipe out Al-Shabab. The insurgents, who have sworn allegiance to Al-Qaeda, threatened to retaliate against Kenya with suicide attacks.
Hailemariam Desalegn, Ethiopia’s foreign minister and vice Prime Minister said the timing is right for Kenya’s military offensive in Somalia and that East African nations unanimously support it.
“The long term goal is to eradicate Al-Shabab from Somalia,” he said. “The territorial integrity of the whole IGAD region is under threat.”
Al-Shabab is now being confronted by forces from three East African countries, following Kenya’s incursion into Somalia.
Burundian and Ugandan forces make up the 9,000 African Union peacekeeping force, which is supporting the weak UN-backed Somali government. The AU forces on Thursday forced the militant group out of its last bases in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.
The militia has been weakened by a severe drought and famine in its strongholds, a loss of revenue from markets in Mogadishu, internal divisions and public discontent over their strict punishments, recruitment of child soldiers and indiscriminate bombings.
