Kenya concerned over Al-Shabaab movement threat in Nairobi

Ahmed Adel

The Kenyan government is increasingly concerned as al-Shabaab militants have launched fierce attacks on sensitive centers in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, as confirmed by the Kenyan intelligence last Monday. It announced that it received information that the Somali al-Shabaab movement would carry out terrorist operations in Nairobi.

The Kenyan army entered into bloody battles, the latest of which was last Thursday, as it killed 24 militants of the Somali al-Shabaab movement in Guqani town in Lower Juba, an administrative region in southern Somalia. The Kenyan military announced a state of high alert to monitor the movements of the terrorist group, and to try to confront any attack against the country.

In July, al-Shabaab attacked a military base belonging to the Kenyan forces within the African Union forces in southern Somalia; killing a military commander and two soldiers belonging to the Kenyan forces. In June, five Kenyan police were killed in eastern Kenya after an explosive device went off targeting patrols affiliated to Kenyan security personnel.

In April, al-Shabaab spokesman Ali Mahmoud Raji, in a video speech, urged his fighters to increase their attacks on Kenya, calling it an occupation after it annexed Balad Hawi, a border town between Kenya and Somalia.
The Kenyan troops are playing a prominent role in countering the attacks of the Somali al-Shabaab movement, specifically in the state of Gulabaland in southern Somalia. This prompted the movement to revenge from Kenya. The movement wants to break up the infrastructure of the Kenyan government, attack strategic sites in the capital, employing their followers at  the sensitive Kenyan systems.

For example, the incident of Karutha Githaiga, an officer in the Kenyan Special Guard Unit; he was arrested during an attempt to infiltrate the Kenyan-Somali border. Investigations showed he was in contact with Somali al-Shabaab movement leaders. This is evidence of al-Shabaab success in infiltrating the Kenyan security services. This made it easier for them to exist and continue to strike security targets and infrastructure deep in Kenya.

Dr. Nermin Mohamed Tawfiq, Researcher in African affairs said that al-Shabaab movement is able to penetrate Kenya, and access to Nairobi; because of the weakness of the government and the security systems in Kenya.

Nermin told Al-Marjie, that it is not difficult for the Somali al-Shabaab movement to penetrate Kenya from within, after the strikes it encountered on the Kenya-Somalia border.

She added that the Kenyan government is concerned because of the high power of al-Shabaab militants. From 2014 until now, the movement has returned to the use excessive force against the Kenyan forces in particular and the African Alliance in general.