Somalia PM visits Kenya after Nairobi hotel attack
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somali Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire has landed in Nairobi on Monday for talks with top Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta and other top government officials, Garowe Online reports.
The prime minister and his entourage were received at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by Kenya's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Monica Juma and the Somali Ambassador to Kenya Mohamud Ahmed Nur [Tarsan].
According to Juma, the visiting Somali PM arrived in Kenya to deliver a special message to Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, without providing further details about the content.
"Pleased to arrive in Kenya for an official visit, home to Somalia’s largest diaspora community and a strategically. Looking forward to discussions on strengthening our bilateral ties particularly our counterterrorism partnership, a critical component of our strategic relationship," said Somali PM in a Twitter post.
The PM's visit comes just days after Kenyan police confirmed that three out of the five guns used in the terrorist attack on Nairobi's DusitD2 hotel complex were initially bought by the Federal Government of Somalia.
The Somalia-based extremist group, Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the carnage at the DusitD2 hotel complex in Nairobi, which includes bars, restaurants, offices, and banks.
The Dusit hotel attack which took place on January 15, the third anniversary of the deadly assault on KDF base in El-Adde town in Somalia's Gedo region has killed 21 people, including American and UK citizens.
Kenya sent troops into Somalia in 2011 after a spate of attacks and kidnappings of tourists by suspected Al Shabab fighters, however, the group has since stepped up attacks against Kenya in retaliation for the deployment of its military in Somalia.
GAROWE ONLINE
