NAIROBI: Kenyans in a border region expressed fear on Wednesday over an influx of Somali regional fighters, pushed over the border following clashes with the central government.
The southern Somali state of Jubaland has long clashed with the federal government based in Mogadishu.
Last month, federal forces seized a key town in Jubaland, forcing local fighters to flee across the border into Kenya’s northeastern Mandera County.
“There is a lot of fear in the area... Most people have run away,” Urgus Shukra, a local elder in Mandera, told AFP by phone.
He said armed Somali forces have been present for four weeks and had occupied “the most important farm area.”
“They are always firing their guns. They have even trained there,” said Shukra.
Ali Ibrahim Roba, a senator for Mandera, wrote on X: “Jubaland forces are now inside Mandera town. Schools have been shut down, businesses paralyzed, and families displaced in fear of stray bullets, RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) and unexploded ordnance.”
Kenya’s interior secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said there was “no cause of alarm” and that such comments were an exaggeration for political gain.
“We cannot confirm now what kind of people they are... if forces or civilians,” Murkomen told reporters.
Mandera governor Mohamed Adan Khalif raised the alarm over the presence of Somali fighters last week, saying that it compromised national sovereignty, and locals held a protest over the issue on Tuesday.
Opposition politicians in Kenya have criticized President William Ruto’s silence and called for action to expel the forces.
Kenya has troops in Jubaland — a lush, relatively prosperous part of Somalia — as a buffer against the Islamist insurgent group Al-Shabab, which has staged several bloody attacks on Kenyan territory.
Jubaland’s regional president Ahmed Madobe — a political ally of Nairobi — faces opposition from Mogadishu, which has refused to recognize his administration.
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Influx of Somali regional forces sparks fear in Kenya
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Influx of Somali regional forces sparks fear in Kenya
- The southern Somali state of Jubaland has long clashed with the federal government based in Mogadishu
- Kenya’s interior secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said there was “no cause of alarm”
China says Philippines distorted facts about incident near disputed atoll
BEIJING: China’s defense ministry accused the Philippines on Wednesday of distorting the facts about an incident involving the Chinese coast guard and Filipino fishermen near a South China Sea shoal, a charge Manila strongly rejected.
The Philippine coast guard said over the weekend that three Filipino fishermen were injured and two fishing vessels damaged when Chinese coast guard ships cut their anchor lines and fired water cannon near the Sabina Shoal on Friday, actions the Philippine defense secretary denounced as “dangerous” and “inhumane.”
The Chinese ministry defended its coast guard’s actions as “reasonable, lawful, professional and restrained,” and vowed to “take strong and effective measures” in response to “all acts of infringement and provocation,” according to a statement released on its social media account.
“The Philippine side amassed a large number of ships in an organized and premeditated manner to illegally intrude” into the atoll’s lagoon, the ministry said. “Philippine personnel even threatened Chinese coast guard on site with a knife,” it added.
Philippine defense ministry spokesperson Arsenio Andolong maintained that Manila has evidence to counter China’s assertions.
“The facts are not distorted. They are documented, timestamped, and corroborated by video recordings, vessel logs, and on-site reporting by the Philippine Coast Guard,” Andolong said in a statement.
“The Philippines is not hyping the issue, the facts speak for themselves. These are aggressive and excessive actions of an encroaching state,” he added.
Sabina Shoal, which China refers to as Xianbin Reef and the Philippines as the Escoda Shoal, lies in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone 150 km (95 miles) west of Palawan province.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a waterway supporting more than $3 trillion of annual commerce. The areas Beijing claims cut into the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
An international arbitral tribunal ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.
The Philippine coast guard said over the weekend that three Filipino fishermen were injured and two fishing vessels damaged when Chinese coast guard ships cut their anchor lines and fired water cannon near the Sabina Shoal on Friday, actions the Philippine defense secretary denounced as “dangerous” and “inhumane.”
The Chinese ministry defended its coast guard’s actions as “reasonable, lawful, professional and restrained,” and vowed to “take strong and effective measures” in response to “all acts of infringement and provocation,” according to a statement released on its social media account.
“The Philippine side amassed a large number of ships in an organized and premeditated manner to illegally intrude” into the atoll’s lagoon, the ministry said. “Philippine personnel even threatened Chinese coast guard on site with a knife,” it added.
Philippine defense ministry spokesperson Arsenio Andolong maintained that Manila has evidence to counter China’s assertions.
“The facts are not distorted. They are documented, timestamped, and corroborated by video recordings, vessel logs, and on-site reporting by the Philippine Coast Guard,” Andolong said in a statement.
“The Philippines is not hyping the issue, the facts speak for themselves. These are aggressive and excessive actions of an encroaching state,” he added.
Sabina Shoal, which China refers to as Xianbin Reef and the Philippines as the Escoda Shoal, lies in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone 150 km (95 miles) west of Palawan province.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a waterway supporting more than $3 trillion of annual commerce. The areas Beijing claims cut into the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
An international arbitral tribunal ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.
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