http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/610342/Al-Shabaab-warning-British-troops-Somalia-peace-trip
Al-Shabaab warn British troops will be met 'with fire' and bloodshed
on peacekeeping trip
MILITANT group al-Shabaab today warned of bloodshed as they vowed
violence against British troops when they arrive in Somalia to help
tackle extremism.
By Levi Winchester Levi Winchester
PUBLISHED: 22:40, Tue, Oct 6, 2015 | UPDATED: 22:47, Tue, Oct 6, 2015
al-Shabaab fighters during a military exercise in Somalia
It was last week announced that British personnel will be sent to
besieged East Africa to provide support for the peacekeeping effort,
which is currently seeking to end two decades of chaos and violence
from al-Qaeda splinter group al-Shabaab.
Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to deploy up to 70 troops and
experts into Somalia, while another 300 troops are due to go to
neighbouring South Sudan.
Somalians, along with those from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea,
make up about two thirds of migrants desperately seeking refuge in
Europe from the war ravaging their homeland.
Reacting to the Prime Minister's announcement, an al-Shabaab spokesman
issued a stark warning earlier today.
Speaking in a radio broadcast, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage said: "We hope
we shall see the beheaded bodies of whites."
The statement branded Britain "an enemy to Muslims" and accused the
country of trying to colonise Somalia.
He added: "We shall welcome British forces with fire and you will see
their dead bodies displayed on the web pages."
Last week Mr Cameron said the move to send the troops would help to
bring "security and stability" to East Africa, which in turn would end
up making Britain safer, and would help reduce the number of people
from the region becoming migrants.
He said: "Britain will take very great care to ensure the security and
safety of our troops.
"What happens in the outcome in Somalia, if it’s a good outcome,
that’s good for Britain – it means less migration, less piracy and
ditto South Sudan."
GETTY
The Prime Minister announced that British troops will be sent to
Somalia last week
A spokesperson for the British High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya,
declined to comment on the al-Shabaab broadcast.
AMISOM, the African Union's force in Somalia, has been battling
al-Shabaab alongside the Somali army by pushing the rebels into
increasingly smaller pockets of territory.
Tensions have been particularly high in recent years, with the terror
group having carried out an attack on the Westgate shopping mall in
Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2013 which left more than 60 people dead.
Received on Wed Oct 07 2015 - 11:40:02 EDT