KISMAYO—The Jubbaland administration’s fight against the militant group got a major boost mid last last month following the arrival of military hardware from the United Arab Emirates at the port city of Kismayo.
A statement by the Jubbaland administration said the consignment will go along in the fight against growing insurgency.
“Today, we received a military consignment from UAE. It will aid us against the ongoing struggle to defeat the growing threat of Shabab,” the brief statement said.
This comes in the wake of allegations that a series of meetings were held in Nairobi hotels over the weekend during which plans for the formation of clan militia were finalised.
Jubaland shares a porous border of 681 kilometres (423 miles) with Kenya. The communities in Jubaland and Northeaster corridors of Wajir, Mandera and Garissa counties share an identity. During this period of prolonged drought, movement across the border is heightened as pastoralists seek water and pasture for their livestock.
While speaking in Mandera town during the announcement to open the border between Kenya and Somalia at the Mandera border post, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, Prof Kithure Kindiki said the Kenyan security agencies “have noted an increase in movement of Al Shabab militants in the area.”
Jubaland elections is set to take place in August next year after the local assembly extended his term.
