Kenya hunts kidnappers in Somalia

A series of warplanes have launched strikes against southern Somalia, which is largely under the control of al Shaabab militants which, Kenya said are responsible for the kidnapping of two Spanish aid workers on Thursday, a Somali commander said, however he could not confirm the planes were Kenyan.

The Kenyan government is under intense pressure to beef up its security along its porous borders with lawless Somalia in the wake of attacks on westerners by gunmen suspected of having ties with Somali militants.

A senior Kenyan official confirmed that Kenyan troops were operating on Somali soil, a day after Defence Minister Yusuf Haji said that the Kenyans had the right to pursue the enemy into Somalia.

The Ministry of Internal Security said that the Kenyan government were pursuing criminals and had no qualms with the Somali government.

Kenya has long cast a weary eye on its anarchic neighbour with troops crossing the border on several occasions in the past.

Thursday’s abduction of two female Medecines sans Frontiers (MSF) aid workers has been the third attack on westerners in a little over a month.
Two elderly women were abducted on the Kenyan coast in a previous incident, causing the government to fear for Kenya’s lucrative tourism industry.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in al Shaabab’s campaign, which began in 2007, to topple the Somali government which is sees as a stooge of the west. The group wants to impose a strict version of sharia law on the nation and more hardline factions bent on striking Somali neighbours.

Kenya’s military intervention could raise the risk of a rebel strike on Kenyan interests. The militia have, in the past, threatened attacks on the capital of Nairobi in response to Kenya’s training of the Somali army and allied militia.

Late on Sunday a Kenyan military helicopter crash-landed inside Kenya after conducting air surveillance to detect militants, residents of the Kenyan town of Liboi said.

Residents close to the town of Dhobley reported a build up of troops, tanks and armoured personnel carriers late on Sunday.

Al Shaabab has denied allegations that it is behind the kidnap of the two aid workers.