Somali youth that trained in Kenya three years ago linked to terror attacks

Saturday, April 11, 2015

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Security chiefs in Garissa County suspect some Somali troops trained in Kenya are behind terror attacks in the country.

This comes after terrorists killed more than 147 people in Garissa of which 142 were students of Garissa University College on Thursday last week. The Transitional Federal Government of Somali (TFG), which had the backing of Kenya and that of the Inter Governmental Authority on Development in 2012, embarked on a military recruitment process of Somali nationals to secure Jubaland region, which neighbours Kenya on the eastern border.

The recruits who trained at Kenya Wildlife Service camp in Manyani were enlisted as police officers but were later taken to Somalia to fight Al- Shabaab but some returned to join clan militias in most parts of North Eastern. According to Garissa County Criminal Investigations officer, Musa Yego, the recruits who had joined the TFG army might have returned and joined hands with militias to unleash attacks in the country.

“We suspect some of these people causing us trouble are those who had been trained to go and help fight alongside TFG soldiers,” Yego said. Intelligence sources said most of the 200 who were enlisted came from Garissa County and some have been killed by security personnel and guns belonging to TFG recovered.

“We suspect the terrorists had a local connection. Those who were enlisted to join TFG forces were locals and we believe they are the ones being used to carry out terror attacks,” said the source. The source said many of the recruits were taken from Dadaab refugee camp, which is some 126 kilometres from Garissa town.

Captain (Rtd) Collins Wanderi, who chairs Kenya Institute of Forensic Auditors, however, believes the killers are from the local community who are unhappy with the political arrangement and how resources are distributed in the county. He says: “Garissa is largely controlled through clanism and I suspect one clan is not happy on how the resources are shared. By hitting at the college, they would have economically sabotaged the other.”

This is an opinion shared by City lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi. “Let us be truthful to ourselves. Kenyan Somalis and their leaders must stop the senseless killings in northern Kenya. Full stop,” Abdullahi tweeted soon after the attack.

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