US steps in to quell Gedo stalemate after fierce gunfight between FGS and Jubaland forces

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MOGADISHU, Somalia - The US played an indispensable role in calling for a truce between Kenya and Somalia, details have emerged, just a day after a lengthy phone call between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his counterpart Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.

So fragile was the latest crisis, forcing each country to raise an alarm, almost degenerating into a diplomatic row, that would have dismembered recently normalized relations between Nairobi and Mogadishu.

In a series of condemnations mainly staged by Somalia ambassador to the UN Dahir Osman accused Kenya of "interference with our internal affairs" and threatened to sue Nairobi at UNSC.

Fighting between Somali National Army [SNA] troops and Jubaland forces along Kenya-Somalia border in Balad-Hawo on Monday however, triggered a stern response by Nairobi, after Uhuru's National Security Council [NSC] meeting.

In a statement, Uhuru accused SNA of "violating territorial integrity" adding that the activities along the border by SNA amounted to "provocation". He said KDF "restrained" itself due to "Kenya's peace-loving" approach.

But shortly after the altercations, Villa Somalia, the official residence of Farmajo, confirmed a phone call with Kenyatta, although it did not divulge to finer details with regard to who initiated the process.

"The two leaders [Uhuru and Farmajo] spoke on phone and discussed the importance of working jointly to find a solution for border stability," read a statement on Twitter.

“President Farmaajo and President Kenyatta underlined that the security of the two nations is interconnected with each other, and anything that could result in misunderstanding needs to be avoided.”

According to diplomatic sources, the Nation reported, the United States engineered the unlikely truce between the two parties, precipitating the "unusual" phone call.

However, the sources did not reveal who engineered the Washington call, but it's likely to be Secretary to the State Mike Pompeo, who recently visited Ethiopia in his Africa trip.

The US had termed FGS deployment of troops to Gedo as "unnecessary" in a statement delivered to UNSC last week by policy strategist Rodney Hunter. The FGS, he noted, "should divert resources to the fight against Al-Shabaab".

Washington and Nairobi are concerned that the FGS stalemate with federal states could pave way for "resurgence" of Al-Shabaab militants, who have significantly lost territories due to raids by SNA and allied forces.

Recently, the militants attacked a US Naval Base in Lamu, killing three Americans in the process. The attack triggered a trip by US Africa Command leader Gen. Stephen Townsend who visited Kenya and Somalia last month.

Somalia has been silently accusing Kenya of helping the Jubaland forces to wage assaults, besides blaming Kenya for hosting Abdirashid Janan, a Jubaland security minister in Mandera.

With the tension likely to escalate after Thursday's deployment of more JSF to Balad-Hawo, Kenya is keen to avert possibilities of the clashes spilling over to Mandera, in a conflict that has displaced over 50,000 people.

Federal states accuse Farmajo of a plot to establish a parallel administration in Gedo to "trim" Jubaland President Ahmed Madobe's influence. FGS has often denied the allegations.

Kenya is also embroiled in the Indian Ocean maritime dispute with Somalia. The two nations will for the first time face each other at the International Court of Justice in June at the Hague.

GAROWE ONLINE

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