Leaders allay fears of al Shabaab attacks

• Local groups vow not to allow Somali militia forces to cross the border into Kenya

As Kenya beefs up security on its border with Somali, peace committees from both countries have defused fears of an attack by al Shabaab militia group.

Al Shabaab, which is allied to al Qaeda has threatened to attacks Kenya for backing Somali’s transitional government.

Local leaders from both sides of the border have been holding a series of meetings to craft a strategy to stop al Shabaab from crossing into Kenya.

And this has eased tension along the border where security forces have been on high alert since March this year.

“We have agreed in our meetings that we shall not allow al Shabaab forces to get into Kenya. If they make good their threats, we shall first crush them in our own territory,” Kolbio peace committee chairman Mr Ali Dere told the Nation in an interview on Saturday.

Kolbio is one of the divisions in Southern Somali. It neighbours Hulugho division of Ijara district in Northern Eastern province, which al Shabaab forces are said to be trying to use as an entry point to invade Kenya and take over the entire North Eastern province to make it part of a greater Somali.

Mr Dere and his team had travelled to Sinai area at the border to join his Kenyan counterparts for a press conference.

The Kenyan team was led by Mr Mudhow Hajji, chairman of the Hulugho Peace Committee.

A local militia accompanied the peace committee officials but they were not armed. They came in a Toyota Land Cruiser from Dobley town in Badada province in southern Somalia.

The whole group seemed suspicious when they found journalists waiting for them at Sinai Primary School. The Nation team had tried to cross into Somalia but was warned that the militia would open fire at the sight of cameras.

Therefore, when the group saw the cameras and our vehicle we could see the apprehension in their faces.

Peaceful existence

However, the Somali delegation was reassured by Mr Mudhow, local chief Adbulrahman Shafe and a local elder who had organised the press conference and invited their colleagues from across the border. The committee said they wanted to explain their commitment to ensuring peaceful existence in the face of al Shabaab threats.

And, the Somali group said it wanted to clarify that it was not involved in a recent military helicopter accident. The chopper had crash-landed 18 kilometres away from the border.

Mr Dere said his group had no links with Hassan al Turki, the leader of Ras-Kamboni militias, a nest of groups allied to al Qaeda.

Mr Turki is on the US list of most wanted terrorists. His militias control Ras-Kamboni, Kuda Burgabo and Badada in Southern Somalia.

“We have decided to work for peace as we need each other. Our people go to Kenya for medical services because we have no hospitals.

Our children also attend schools in Kenya. So we rely on Kenya for most of our essential services since the government in Mogadishu collapsed 20 years ago” Mr Dere said.