Ruto says Kenya will defeat Al-Shabaab after cross border attacks

William Ruto Photographer: Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Image

NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenya's President William Ruto insists that the country will emerge victorious in the fight against Al-Shabaab, noting that the militants will not be allowed to continue making infiltration into the country due to ongoing crackdown in Somalia where the Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] is directly involved.

Ruto, who has been working closely with his Somalia counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said the collective effort by East Africa and the Horn of Africa countries will yield fruits, adding that more needs to be done in terms of collection of intelligence and military operations against the group.

The Kenyan president added that the country will not allow Al-Shabaab to reverse gains made in terms of security within the country, adding that Nairobi is working hard to seal loopholes in the fight against Al-Shabaab. The group has been trying to make inroads into the country in recent weeks.

“ We are going to send a compelling message to AlShabaab that they are not going to reverse the gains we have made." His remarks came as Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia expected to deploy Non-ATMIS troops to Somalia to take part 2nd phase of military Operations aimed to root out the terror group.

The three countries have agreed to dispatch more troops to Somalia who will work under the command of the Somali National Army for the next three months and are expected to help in taming the militants. The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] have started tactical withdrawal from the country.

The second phase of operations against the Al-Shabaab militants is set to start in Jubaland and Southwest states, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said, but the operations has negatively affected Kenya, which has seen influx of Al-Shabaab activities. The militants have been carrying out attacks in Northeastern Kenya.

According to Ruto, surveillance has been increased along the border with the KDF establishing 14 Forward Operating Bases which are expected to boost security along the border. Critics have questioned the decision to open the porous Kenya-Somalia border, but others argue that the reopening is not directly responsible for the current insecurity menace.

GAROWE ONLINE