African securityKenya’s efforts to counter al- Shabaab faulted as heavy-handed
As Somali-based al-Shabaab loses ground in its home country to international forces backed by the United States, the United Nations, and the African Union, it has increased its attacks in Kenya, specifically, attacks on Christians who live in towns near Kenya’s border with Somalia. To counter al-Shabaab’s operations in Kenyan security forces have begun to launch attacks on suspected terrorists in Kenya. Human rights groups have documented assassinations and disappearances of terrorism suspects by Kenya’s counterterrorism units. Such raids only act as a recruitment tool for al-Shabaab, say analysts.
As Somali-based al-Shabaab loses ground in its home country to international forces backed by the United States, the United Nations, and the African Union, it has increased its attacks in Kenya, specifically, attacks on Christians who live in towns near Kenya’s border with Somalia. The Los Angeles Times reports that 2014 was the most deadly year for Kenyans since 2011, when Kenya began its military intervention in Somalia as part of an effort to eradicate al-Shabaab before the group further spread to neighboring countries. In 2014, more than ninety people were killed in several terrorist attacks near Lamu on the Kenya coast, and sixty-four were executed in two attacks near the northeastern town of Mandera.
To counter al-Shabaab’s operations in Kenyan security forces have begun to launch attacks on suspected terrorists in Kenya. Human rights groups have documented assassinations and disappearances of terrorism suspects by Kenya’s counterterrorism units. Several local imams have been killed by police, sparking riots and alienating local Muslims. In one case, 6,000 police officers raided a Somali neighborhood near Nairobi.
Such raids only act as a recruitment tool for al-Shabaab, says Cedric Barnes, an International Crisis Group analyst. “The government’s recent action threatens to create a greater constituency for Al Shabab, uniting grievances that are specific to the Somali community with those of the wider Muslim population,” Barnes wrote in a report last April.
The Kenyan government has denied any counterterrorism effort that kills suspected terrorists, but members of anti-terrorism police units have admitted to killing dozens of people to avoid Kenya’s weak and corrupt legal system. “Kenyan counter-terrorism forces appear to be killing and disappearing people right under the noses of top government officials, major embassies and the United Nations,” Leslie Lefkow, Human Rights Watch’s deputy director for Africa, said in an August report. “This horrendous conduct does not protect Kenyans from terrorism — it simply undermines the rule of law.”
Last month, Kenyan lawmakers approved a security bill which limits the number of Somali refugees allowed in the country from 500,000 to 150,000, and restricts them to two refugee camps. The rule also allows authorities to revoke ID cards and require the media to get police permission before publishing any articles relating to counterterrorism investigations and operations. Some security analysts have called the new security bill a means to cover up unlawful counter-strategies deployed by security forces. The law also requires anyone planning a protest rally to get permission from the Cabinet secretary in charge of security.
The U.S. State Department has called on Kenya to repeal the security bill as it appears to violate the freedom of assembly, the press, and access to asylum for refugees. “Laws that violate fundamental rights and are open to abuse by security forces aren’t the right solution to Kenya’s security crisis,” Lefkow said in a recent statement.
