Kenya set to reopen border points with Somalia shut over Al-Shabaab raids
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Staff reporter GAROWE ONLINE
- Posted On 15-05-2023, 10:32AM
NAIROBI - Kenya is set to re-open three border posts with Somalia shut down a few years ago over persistent Al-Shabaab attacks, the country's Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki announced, in what would be a relief for traders across the two nations.
For the last twelve years, the border points of Mandera/Belet Hawo [Belethawa], Liboi-Harhar/Dhobley and Kiunga/Ras Kamboni were closed by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration but his term ended before the conclusion of the talks.
Kenya, Kindiki said, is currently leading talks to reserve the decision with the East African nation focusing on the resumption of trade between the two countries and the free movement of people. On Monday, a meeting termed as "critical" will be held between the two countries, Kindiki told The Star.
“We will be having important engagements on Monday morning with the Somalia delegation with the view of re-opening the three border points between the two countries,” he said.
Monday's high-level ministerial meeting between Kenya and Somalia is a follow-up meeting following the previous talks between President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and retired Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta. The two met in July 2022 at State House, Nairobi.
During those deliberations, the duo announced a series of steps to address security concerns along the shared border between the two countries as well as the reopening of three border points. Kindiki will be in charge of Monday's meeting along with his Somalia counterpart Mohamed Ahmed Sheikh Ali.
A roadmap on the opening of the three border points and resumption of trade between the two sisterly nations will be inked, Kindiki added. The bilateral meeting will bring together six ministers from the two countries.
Apart from the two Internal Security bosses, Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Foreign Affairs CS Alfred Mutua, alongside their Defence and Foreign Affairs counterparts from Somalia, will be part of the meeting, Kindiki confirmed.
The closure of the three border points was activated in 2011 moments after the Kenya Defence Forces [KDF] started Operation Linda Nchi which saw the forces cross over to Somalia to pursue the Al-Shabaab group. The KDF has since joined African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS].
The Monday meeting aims at providing a platform for the six Cabinet ministers to discuss common security threats, improve border management and infrastructure and exchange ideas and experiences on border security management.
Last Thursday, during the launch of the Kenya-Somalia-Ethiopia Borderlands Security project in Mandera town, CS Kindiki and his Somalia security counterpart emphasised the need for renewed partnerships. The project is funded by the UK.
CS Kindiki said, “…the programmes we run as governments must be alive to the complex security that we face today as a region. We all must walk together, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder to deliver for our people in the region.”
On Wednesday, the Kenya-UK security compact was signed by CS Kindiki and UK security minister Tom Tugendhat at Harambee House, Nairobi. The multi-million dollar project will however be subject to consultation and consensus with Kenya’s neighbours, Somalia and Ethiopia.
“It was agreed that this project will proceed, subject to the three partner states, Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, sitting down together with the UK," CS Kindiki said.
"[The aim is] to agree on the action plan and the detailed activities so that we walk together to ensure that we leave no detail unattended because of the sensitivities and complexities of security matters in the region,” he said.
Somalia has activated the second phase of operations against Al-Shabaab, with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud dispatching a number of troops to various frontlines on Sunday. The second phase will focus on Jubaland and Southwest states, Hassan Sheikh told the media.
GAROWE ONLINE
