By: Abdikadir Okash (@abdikadirokash)
NAIROBI—Kenya is slowly becoming a safe haven for foreign militants as more westerners join Al Shabab in Somalia while using Kenya as a passage to their destination.
After a dawn attack at a military post in Baure, Lamu county, it emerged that one of eleven militants killed was a British national—Thomas Evans—who landed in Nairobi years earlier before her proceeded to Somalia to join the group. Western counter terrorism experts believe that Kenya is slowly supplanting Syria as a place for Europeans seeking “jihad”.
Literally, Jihad is an Arabic word that means to strive towards something.
According David Anderson, an expert on Horn of African affairs and a Professor of African History at the University of Warwick in the UK, the involvement of Europeans in Al Shabab attacks should not surprise Kenyan authorities and the Kenyans at large.
“Having Caucasian European recruits on the Kenyan side of the border—yes, this is a surprise to Kenyans,” Anderson told Radio France International. “But when one thinks about Al Shabab’s operations and logistics, it’s not really that surprising.”
Anderson observes that if Al Shabab is going to increase its cross-border attacks in the region, Western militants would not be a rarity. He said although the number was not as alarming as those joining the group that call itself the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), he believes the measures put in place to address the menace in the European continent has discouraged a lot of potential recruits from travelling to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS, thus making Kenya the only gateway into joining militant orgernisation.
“There aren’t that many [foreign fighters] left with Al Shabab, but there are concerns in Europe that they are still actively recruiting,” he added.
And for some people who are attracted to their message, he continues, they may find Kenya easier to enter and to get access to Al Shabab than, for example, going to Syria to join ISIS.”
“… as Al Shabab operations in southern Somalia wind down, more Al Shabab attacks are likely in Lamu and Garissa counties, not solely because they are on the border, (but) because they thrive where there are political divisions, where they can exploit local grievances, where they can come into local politics and find leverage,” he stated.
He explains, “Wajir and Mandera, two northern counties in Kenya are also vulnerable, but cohesive local politics make it harder for Al Shabab to operate there.”
Professor Anderson urged the Kenyan government to formulate tougher anti-terror measures similar to that put in place by European countries.
