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Al-Shabab attacks put Kenyan government under pressure Al-Shabab attacks put Kenyan government under pressure
(about 5 hours later)
By attacking a bar in Wajir, a town used by the Kenyan military, and by singling out non-Muslim victims in two brutal attacks near the border with Somalia, al-Shabab is hoping to send a stark and chilling message, both to the Kenyan government and the public. By attacking a bar in Wajir, a town used by the Kenyan military, and by singling out non-Muslim victims in two brutal attacks near the border with Somalia, al-Shabab is hoping to send a stark, and chilling message, both to the Kenyan Government, and to the public.
Al-Shabab labels the presence of Kenyan troops, part of a wider African Union force in Somalia, an "occupation". Al-Shabab labels the presence of Kenyan troops, part of a wider African Union force in Somalia, as an "occupation".
And it claims the recent air strikes by Kenyan fighter jets on al-Shabab targets in Somali territory amount to "aggression" and have caused "atrocities" among the civilian population. It claims the recent air strikes by Kenyan fighter jets on al-Shabab targets in Somali territory amount to "aggression" and have caused "atrocities" among the civilian population.
The Somali-based group, which much of the world labels terrorists, wants to try to create the impression that the attacks are a direct consequence of the presence of Kenyan troops, and Kenyan air strikes, in Somalia. The Somali-based group, which much of the world labels a terrorist group, wants to try and create the impression that the attacks are a direct consequence of the presence of Kenyan troops, and Kenyan airstrikes, in Somalia.
The Kenyan government has accused al-Shabab of trying to turn its campaign of violence into one based on religious lines. In a statement following the latest attacks it simply described the attackers as "heavily armed bandits". But the message from Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta was uncompromising.
Before Kenyan troops were deployed in Somalia in October 2011, there were several attacks in the Mandera region, and other parts of northern Kenya, attributed to al-Shabab. At one time during his televised address, in language that reminded me of the language of President George W Bush in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in New York, the Kenyan president told his people they were either with his government, or with the "terrorists".
Mr Kenyatta said his country was "at war" and fighting a "war on terrorism".
His message to al-Shabab was clear: Kenyan troops will continue fighting you in Somalia, and said he would "intensify" the war.
Before Kenyan troops were deployed in Somalia in October 2011 there were several attacks in the Mandera region, and other parts of northern Kenya, attributed to al-Shabab.
But in the past few days the audacity and brutality of the attacks there has escalated, and so too has the pressure on the Kenyan authorities to prevent further violence.But in the past few days the audacity and brutality of the attacks there has escalated, and so too has the pressure on the Kenyan authorities to prevent further violence.
Kenya has so far maintained an uncompromisingly hard line against al-Shabab. The government claims the military killed around 100 al-Shabab militants in an operation in Somalia in response to last week's bus attack in Mandera which left 28 people dead. And in the face of such cruel attacks, some people in Kenya will support their government's position.
And in the face of such violence, some people in Kenya will support their government's position. There will inevitably be uncomfortable questions about the effectiveness of the Kenyan military operation in Somalia, and the affect it is having on Kenya's own internal security.
But there are inevitably uncomfortable questions about the effectiveness of the Kenyan military operation in Somalia, and the effect it is having on Kenya's own internal security. And there may now be more calls now for them to pull-out.
And there may now be more calls for them to pull out. What's more, the situation in the corner of north-eastern Kenya, near to both the Ethiopian and Somali borders, is not a simple battle between Islamist militants and Kenyan security services.
What's more, the situation in the corner of north-eastern Kenya, near both the Ethiopian and Somali borders, is not a simple battle between Islamist militants and the Kenyan security services. There are also clan-based allegiances within the majority Somali-Kenyan population there, on either side of the border.
There are also clan-based allegiances within the majority Somali-Kenyan population there, on either side of the Somali-Kenyan border.
It is possible that al-Shabab is successfully exploiting tensions and loyalties amongst other militant groups in the region.It is possible that al-Shabab is successfully exploiting tensions and loyalties amongst other militant groups in the region.