by ABAYOMI AZIKIWE
Although both the United States and France have denied involvement in the current Kenyan military land invasion in neighboring Somalia, the mark of imperialism is all over the current escalation of tensions in this region of East Africa. The U.S. has identified Al-Shabaab, the Islamic resistance movement in Somalia, as a terrorist organization and is conducting drone attacks in areas they claim are under the movement’s control.
Kenyan authorities, likewise, are pointing the finger at Al-Shabaab for what it says is its damaging role to the tourism industry after several high-profile attacks and kidnappings of Europeans inside the country. The Kenyan military has conducted airstrikes against an internally displaced persons’ camp where suspected members and supporters of Al-Shabaab have taken refuge from the drought and escalating Pentagon-CIA drone attacks.
A United States State Department spokesperson was quoted recently as saying that “The United States is not participating in Kenya’s current operation in Somalia.” While the U.S. ambassador to Kenya, Scott Gration, said that “We are talking with the Kenyans right now to figure out where they need help.” (Global Research, October 26)
Finian Cunningham, the Middle East and Africa correspondent for Global Research, said that “such denials are contradicted by Kenyan and pro-Western Somali military officials who clearly state that American and French forces have bombed Somali civilian centers, including Afmadow Kismayu and Kadhaa, which have resulted in hundreds of deaths.”
Kenya Denies Airstrikes on IDP Camp
Following the pattern of denial set down by the U.S. and France, the Kenyan military has made false claims about its bombing of Jilib, where displaced persons are seeking shelter. The Kenyan defense ministry is saying that the camp is controlled by Al-Shabaab and that claims that five civilians, including children were killed on October 30, is merely propaganda fostered by the resistance movement’s leadership.
Nonetheless, the Medecins san Frontieres (MSF) has reported that in addition to the five deaths, 45 people, most of whom are children, were wounded in the airstrikes in Jilib, an area located near a MSF hospital in Marere. MSF spokesperson Gautam Chatterjee, who heads their operations in Somalia, said that “The medical team treating the wounded at Marere hospital have reported that most of the wounded have shrapnel injuries. “ (The Guardian, UK, October 31)
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