Al Qaida Allies Active in Kenya, says U.S Terrrorism Report

A U.S. terrorism report which was published in the newspaper the Kenya Daily Nation on Saturday, said al Qaida allies are active in Kenya. The annual report published by the U.S. State Department warned al Qaida agents responsible for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam remain at large and currently pose "the most serious threat to Kenya.

The report contained an overview of the expanding security ties between the United States and Kenya, aimed at preventing terrorists from staging attacks inside Kenya and apprehending suspected terrorists. It said a group of al Qaida supporters is active at the Kenyan coast and in parts of Nairobi.

In the past year, Washington said it helped the Kenyan army develop a Ranger Strike Force, an elite counter-terrorism unit capable of conducting operations against infiltrators and armed groups. The United States also gave training and unspecified equipment to the Kenyan navy for maritime interdiction operations in Kenyan waters. U.S. State Department's Anti-terrorism Assistance program also provided training and equipment to the country's Maritime Police Unit.

The report said the U.S. military's Djibouti-based Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa is currently installing a Maritime Security and Safety Information System in key positions along the Kenyan coast. The measures were largely in response to threats posed by two al Qaida operatives, who allegedly carried out the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies. U.S. intelligence analysts said the operatives, the Comoros-born Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and Kenyan national Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, have eluded capture through the help of al Qaida's support network in the coastal region of Kenya and in parts of the capital Nairobi. It said that "the escalating conflict in Somalia provides a permissive environment for terrorist groups such as al Qaida operatives and al-Shabaab." While Kenya's border with Somalia remains officially closed, "some Kenyan officials characterized the closure as irrelevant, given the ease of crossing in both directions," the report noted.

These high-level expressions of concerns about terrorist activity in East Africa represent the latest one in a series of recent warnings by U.S. officials concerning growing threats to Kenya. However, the Kenyan authorities dismissed threats, saying the east African nation was very far from any threats. "Kenya as a country is very safe. We will study the report and take the necessary action," police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said.

The State Department report also makes critical observations about Kenya’s own efforts to enhance its security. “Kenya lacked the counter-terrorism legislation necessary to comply with the UN conventions it has signed,” the report says, noting that Bills of this sort “remained highly controversial in Kenya.” Muslim leaders have criticised counter-terrorism proposals as “anti-Muslim” and have joined other elements of the Kenyan society in arguing that the proposals would heighten the danger of government violations of human rights, the report observes. Kenya has also not adopted legislation to combat money laundering and other forms of terrorism financing, the State Department adds. It points out that Kenya is one of only two countries in the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group without an anti-money laundering law. And Kenya currently serves as the head of that group, the report notes.

The State Department’s annual global terrorism survey outlines extensive military cooperation between Nairobi and Washington. Kenya’s Air Force procured additional F-5 fighter jets last year to improve maritime and counter-terrorism surveillance operations.

Source - Ecoterra Intl, May 3, 2009

~	Conference, Oct. 16, 2024. The War Against the Past: Fighting for our History

~	SLAV - Robert Lepage's Reaction

~	Author and Tolerance.ca Editor, Victor Teboul, Ph.D., to speak at the Arab World Festival of Montreal

~	Iran : Hey Ayatollah, Leave those kids alone! and Pink Floyd's remake

~	UN-backed group supports Somali Government’s peace overtures to rivals

~	Cargo vessel captured near Seychelles is commandeered to Somalia

~	U.S. and Oman Navy Rescue Indian Dhow from Somali Pirates - One Sailor Dead

~	Canada. 50% of tax filers participate in a private retirement savings plan

~	Somali Pirates capture second merchant vessel in 24h

~	Canada. 41% of adults have a high cholesterol level