Date: Thu Dec 4 10:23:15 2014
Al-Shabab attacks put Kenyan government under pressure
By Tom Burridge BBC News, Nairobi
4 December 2014 Last updated at 18:28
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, as an "occupation".
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 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.
But the message from Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta was uncompromising.
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.
And in the face of such cruel attacks, 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.
Al-Shabab - a potent threat in East Africa
And there may now be more calls now 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.
There are also clan-based allegiances within the majority Somali-Kenyan
population there, on either side of the border.
It is possible that al-Shabab is successfully exploiting tensions and
loyalties amongst other militant groups in the region.
Related Stories
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<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30118119>
* <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27633367> How al-Shabab
runs its media machine
* <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15336689> Who are Somalia's
al-Shabab?
. Demonstrations in Kenya to call for greater security following a
string of attacks by al-Shabab, 26 November 2014Increasing al-Shabab attacks
have led to demonstrations over lack of security in Kenya
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