Kenya raid on Shabaab wins praise

Kenya’s military operation has helped erode Al-Shabaab’s control of southern Somalia, the chief US intelligence officer said on Tuesday.

The Islamist insurgents have been weakened by “internal divisions and diminished local support” due in part from military pressure from Kenya, Ethiopia, African Union forces and Somali government troops, director of national intelligence James Clapper said in an assessment of threats to US security.

The annual report cautions, however, that Kenya and other Al-Shabaab opponents must “win support of local clans” to consolidate the gains.

Cycle of weak governance

Overall, the American intelligence network projects continued instability in Somalia.

“We see few signs that Somalia will escape the cycle of weak governance,” Mr Clapper’s report declares. The country’s government “almost certainly will be bogged down with political infighting and corruption that impede efforts to improve security.”

Al-Shabaab and other affiliates of Al-Qaeda now pose a greater threat to US interests than do the Pakistan-based “remnants” of Osama bin Laden’s original organisation.

The intelligence projection also says South Sudan this year “will face serious challenges that threaten to destabilise its fragile, untested and poorly resourced government.”

It says ethnic disputes will undermine national cohesion, and the government will struggle to provide security.