Western powers are taking part in Kenya’s military offensive in Somalia, media reports indicate.
Kenyan army marched to southern Somalia on Saturday Oct. 15, though Nairobi officially admitted on Sunday vowing to take Al-Shabaab to ‘its logical end’. The Kenyan Air Force has been virtually daily bombing targets in southern Somalia in the past week.
However, reports of Western involvements are surfacing in the media.
The New York Times reported, citing Kenyan army spokesman, Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir, said that the United States or France, or possibly both, had stepped up airstrikes in the past few days, killing a number of Shabab militants. The news also indicated, citing Kenyan officials, the French Navy has also shelled rebel positions from the sea.
The military spokesman made the statement last Sunday and indicated further that the French navy bombing targeted ‘a town in Somalia near an al-Shabab stronghold’, Kenyan media reported.
Another major US news outlet reported that US officials are actively discussing how best to help Kenya.
The Associated Press reported, citing residents in southern Somalia that ‘military aircraft had flown overhead and likely dropped ordinance’. AP reported:
"Two planes flew over the town, then bangs and explosions began," said Ali Abdullahi, a resident in Kudha. "I don’t know any causalities yet, but we are terrified."
Ahmednor Addow, another resident, said he believed the bombs were targeting an al-Shabab base.
"We heard more than 10 bangs and explosions. They were very heavy bombings," Salah Ali, another resident said. "The whole area was sealed off by al-Shabab fighters who ordered people to stay away."
It was unclear to what nation the warplanes belonged.
The news appears to corroborate the Iranian Press-TV’s repeated claims of US drones attack in Southern Somalia. Press-TV reported three airstrikes by US drones.
Last Friday, Oct 21, 2011, Press-TV claimed: ‘US drone strike kills 44 in Somalia’. According to the news:
A fresh attack by a US unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has killed at least 44 civilians and injured 63 others in southern Somalia, Press TV reports.
The Friday attack took place near Ras Kamboni town in the Badhaadhe district of Lower Juba region near the border with Kenya, a Press TV correspondent reported.
In a similar incident late on Thursday, a US done attack killed 22 in Kudhaa Island in southern Somalia near the border with Kenya.
Five days earlier, on Mon Oct 17, 2011, Press-TV claimed: ‘27 Somalis killed in US drone strike’. Press-TV said:
A US drone attack has claimed the lives of 27 civilians, including children, in the famine-stricken Somalia, Press TV reports.
Dozens of civilians were also injured after an American strike on the port town of Kismayo, about 500 kilometers south of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday, witnesses told Press TV.
A similar airstrike killed over a dozen people in another southern region on Saturday.
The US military uses remotely controlled drones in Somalia to conduct reconnaissance missions and carry out bombing runs.
There was also a news on Sat Oct 15, 2011, which claimed ‘US drone strike kills 15 Somali civilians’. Press-TV claimed:
Another US drone strike has killed 15 in Somalia.
A US drone strike has killed at least 15 civilians and injured dozens of others in the southern region of war-torn Somalia, Press TV reports.
The unmanned plane has left at least 15 people dead, while injuring at least 43 in the southern town of Bilis Qooqani near Afmadow.
This recent strike follows a similar strike in the same region on Friday, which killed at least 70 people.
French Embassy denied the bombing, while indicating involvement in logistics provision, on Monday. News24 reported that:
France’s embassy on Monday denied that French naval vessels had carried out any attacks in Somalia, but a military spokesperson said France would soon help supply Kenyan troops fighting al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Thierry Burkhard said French transport planes will fly supplies from Nairobi to an airport in northern Kenya beginning Monday or Tuesday, but he insisted the operation would be "limited in scope".
A Kenyan military spokesperson on Sunday said that France’s navy bombed a town in Somalia near a stronghold of al-Shabaab. But the French Embassy on Monday denied that claim, saying that no French warships are in the vicinity.
Burkhard said there was "no French operation in Somalia".
There is no comments from United States so far.
**************
Stay tuned.
Previous posts:
Check the drop-down menu at the top of this page to find related posts.
Leave a Comment