Kenya has joined Ethiopia and Djibouti in launching a joint military offensive against Al-Shabaab insurgents to prevent their infiltration into the region as the war against the militia in Somalia continues.
President William Ruto joined his counterparts, Abiy Ahmed (Ethiopia), Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti) and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (Somalia), in a one-day frontline states summit in Mogadishu. The meeting was held to discuss how to stabilise Somalia and unite in the fight against terrorists in the region.
President Ruto said the war will be won through a collective effort to, among others, disrupt their financial flows, and weapons supply chains and sanction the enablers of terrorism in the Horn of Africa.
“Through common endeavour, we have the power to secure the people’s well-being and fulfil their aspirations while diminishing terrorism threat,” he said.
The countries, which are Somalia’s immediate neighbours and are contributors to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) agreed to jointly search for and stop the insurgents within their individual states and across the south and central Somalia within an undisclosed time frame.
They also agreed to establish a joint border security mechanism that will eliminate cross-border terrorism activities while enabling legal passage for trade and the movement of people.
“The time-sensitive campaign will prevent any future infiltrating elements into the wider region,” a communique shared after the summit stated.
Additionally, the three nations endorsed Somalia’s quest to completely lift the arms embargo by the end of this year.
In November last year, the United Nations Security Council voted to extend the embargo, making it the longest in the UN’s sanctions regime, on grounds that Al-Shabaab still posed a great danger to the region’s stability.
The arms embargo was imposed on Somalia in 1992 to cut the supply of weapons to feuding clans strongmen who had toppled former President Mohamed Siad Barre the previous year, plunging the country into civil war.
Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya have been integral to our counterterrorism efforts and this summit reaffirms our resolve to rid our region of terrorism permanently,” President Hassan said yesterday.
Yesterday’s summit was preceded by a conclave of ministers of defence and chiefs of the defence forces of the four countries including Kenya’s Robert Kibochi, which discussed the need for coordinated and timely technical, logistical, intelligence and operational support to the ongoing anti-terror operations alongside the Somali National Army.
The joint offensives, seen as the final push for the removal of the insurgents in areas that remain under their capture in Somalia, are expected to lead to the draw-down of ATMIS troops from the country and the gradual handover of security responsibilities to the Somali security forces.
Last month, ATMIS handed over Maslah Forward Operating Base to the government of Somalia. Burundi forces had occupied the base since 2012.
The meeting took place under tight security in Mogadishu where the government had suspended flights into and out of the capital, except for emergency and VVIP transportation.
However, mortar shells exploded near the heavily guarded presidential villa as the regional leaders met, but officials said no casualties were reported.
