This is a guest post by Kennedy Mugera.
Speaking at a Heads of State Summit for AMISIOM police/troops contributing countries taking place in Djibouti, Uhuru Kenyatta has urged fellow African countries engaged in the war on terror in Somalia to send more troops to the Gedo region of Somalia.
Speaking of the threat that the region faces from a seemingly resurgent Al Shabaab Militia, Mr. Kenyatta described the Gedo region as a breeding ground for Islamic fundamentalists. He added that the region is a perfect ground for the terrorist group to mount another attack on then Kenya Defense Forces.
“This region has now become a safe haven for Al Shabaab and a launching pad for attacks against our troops and the people along our common border with Somalia. It has become a critical soft belly for Kenya.”
This comes as an increasing public irritation by the unending war on terror develops, and the controversy over the Al Shabaab attack on an AMISOM Military base last year rages on.
While the KDF are yet to release a figure on the number of casualties incurred, the issue has turned out to be an Achilles heel for the Uhuru administration as they continuously fend off attacks from the opposition over the management of this entire affair.
Al Shabaab has reduced what was a full scale fray just a couple of years ago to an unconventional war using suicide bombers after the AMISOM troops pushed them out of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu