Somalia: ‘Al Shabaab feeds into Libya’, warns King of Jordan [Special Report]

MOGADISHU, Somalia-King Abdullah of Jordan warned of Al Shabaab’s growing threat to regional and global peace in a leaked briefing to US lawmakers in January, Garowe Online reports.

According to confidential memo obtained by the British Newspaper ‘the Guardian’, the powerful monarch expressed his concerns over Al Shabaab’s influence on the events in Libya during his speech to US congressional leaders.

“We started with Al Shabaab, as they feed into Libya,” King Abdullah said in the minutes whose authenticity has not been fully confirmed, but acknowledged by one senate source.

In attendance at the briefing were John McCain, The chairman of the Senate armed services committee, Bob Corker, the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee and Paul Ryan, the House of Representatives Speaker.

-‘Jordanian Special Forces might cross border into Somalia’-

In his address, King Abdullah made substantive revelation, saying Jordanian Special Forces were ready to fight alongside British and Kenyan services to hit Al Shabaab militants in Somalia.

Back in April, 2015, Jordanian King hosted Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Aqaba for key talks on extremism and his country’s efforts in confronting what he described in his briefing ‘outlaws’—in reference to a term used for heretics adhered to apostasy principles.

He threw light on the slaughter of over hundred Kenyan students by Al Shabaab gunmen at university hostel in the Northeastern Garissa town in April, 2015.

Having appeared frustrated at West’s inaction when it comes to threats emerging in the East African country, Abdullah recalled that Kenya President, Uhuru Kenyatta “had tears in his eyes” after Al Shabaab militants carried out one of the deadliest rampages in the country, and fled unpunished.

“Jordan is looking at al-Shabaab because no one was really looking at the issue, and we cannot separate this issue, and the need to look at all the hotspots in the map,” he added. ”We have a rapid deployment force that will stand with the British and Kenya and is ready to go over the border [into Somalia].”

The leaked minutes touched upon UK Special Forces deployment in Libya, and Israel’s alleged ties to Al-Nusra in Syria.

Jordanian King has stepped up coordination with East Africa within the framework of maintaining consultation at regional and international levels in fighting terrorism from a holistic approach.

GAROWEONLINE