East Africa Map
The military campaign against Somali Islamic extremist group al-Shabab remains on the top of the agenda of the six-nation East African summit to be held in Addis Abba. The regional leaders meeting under the auspices of the Inter Governmental Authority on Development on Friday are slated to discuss ways and devise means to assist Kenya’s offensive against al-Shabab, strengthen the transitional government in Somalia, reinforce the African Union peacekeeping efforts, and seek UN support for stepping up military operations in the country torn by civil wars.
Al-Shabab extremists affiliated to al-Qaida had their strongholds in the famine-affected south and central Somalia. The group controls a large part of Somalia and poses a big challenge to peace and stability in the entire region. The 9,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force, AMISOM, has been in the country since February 2007 and has established effective control over capital Mogadishu. But it needs more reinforcements to expand its peacekeeping role. Kenyan forces have made some headway in their month-long offensive against the Islamic rebels and require outside support and aid to overcome logistical challenges. The transitional government is trying its best to win over clan militias and expand its hold.
The East African leaders know the significance of the present situation to coordinate and make final military push to rout al-Shabab. They need to reinvigorate the Somalia offensive and increase their fighting capability by securing support and military hardware from non-African nations. Monica Juma, Kenya's representative in Ethiopia and the African Union, has made a strong pitch for UN Security Council endorsement to expand AMISOM mandate for successful action against al-Shabab. According to her, the talk to increase the number of troops should also include efforts to procure mission enablers, military hardware, and resources that guarantee sea, air, and land dominance against the extremists.
The UN approval is also essential to cut al-Shabab's supply lines. The Islamist group gets its supplies through Kismayo, a port of strategic significance. The extremists are in complete control of the port, and certain countries have reservations against declaring a blockade on it, an act of war, according to international laws. East African heads of states are expected to up the diplomatic ante to secure UN sanction against al-Shabab in all forms.
Most of the pre-summit discussions are centered on efforts to persuade Ethiopia, the current chair of the IGAD, to join military campaign against al-Shabab. In 2009, the Ethiopian troop withdrawal from Somalia following their portrayal as Christian attackers against Muslim-majority Somalia resulted in local support for the extremists. Their fight against Islamist radical forces was largely successful and many African nations view Ethiopian participation as being vital to ensuring military rout of al-Shabab.
Ethiopia is a prime driver for swift military action to end extremist hold in the neighborhood. There are reports of the Ethiopian army mobilization on the border and their movements several kilometers inside Somalia. However, Ethiopia's foreign ministry has rejected all such rumors and clarified that no decision has yet been taken on its joining the military campaign, and many African diplomats have endorsed it.
Notwithstanding the Ethiopian reluctance to join AMISOM, Kenya, another Christian-majority nation, has already begun military operations against al-Shabab in south Somalia. Kenyan foreign ministry has offered to work under AMISOM and held meetings with AU peacekeeping mission to plan better and coordinated offensive against the extremist strongholds. Jerry Rawlings, the AU special envoy on Somalia, has also appealed for urgent and effective international assistance after his meeting with Kenyan defense minister in Nairobi. Djibouti is expected to send troops in January 2012 for deployment in territories liberated from the extremists.
Source: www.ezega.com
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