Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


U.N. Adviser: Somalia Violence Threatens Horn of Africa

   Peter Clottey  March 07, 2011
   Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga (file photo)

Photo: AP

   Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga (file photo)

   An  adviser to the United Nations on the conflict in Somalia warns the
   countryâs  ongoing crisis is encouraging terrorism activities in Kenya
   and  other  neighboring countries, which he says could destabilize the
   entire Horn of Africa region.

   Mustapha Ali, who is also the Secretary General of the African Council
   of Religious Leaders, says Kenyans are expressing concern after police
   named 11 suspects under investigation for terrorism activities.

   âIt  seems  that  the  goings  on  in Somalia and across to the Kenyan
   border is now spilling over in terms of the people who do not mean any
   good in the country,â said Ali.

   âAfter  the  bombs that went off in Kampala (Uganda), it is clear that
   there were some Kenyans who were involved in the planning and carrying
   out  of  the actual attackâ¦There is a high likelihood that people who
   have  been  trained  in  Somalia  could  still  pose a great danger to
   Kenyans.â

   The  suspects,  police  say,  are  linked  to  the Somaliaâs hard-line
   insurgent  group, al-Shabab. The group has been fighting African Union
   forces,   as   well   as   the   national   army,   to  overthrow  the
   internationality-backed Somali Transitional Federal Administration.

   The group has often threatened to unleash terror attacks in Kenya.

   Ali  says  the entire Horn of Africa region could be threatened if the
   ongoing crisis in Somalia is not quickly resolved.

   âIt  is very clear that al-Shabab poses a great risk to Kenya, Uganda,
   Burundi, Tanzania and Ethiopia, particularly Uganda and Burundi, those
   countries  that  have  sent  forces  to the African Union Peacekeeping
   forces in Mogadishu (Somalia),â said Ali.

   âThere  is a need to engage in dialogue with the (Somali) Transitional
   Federal  Government  and other anti-peace elements in Somalia. Without
   that,  it  is going to be very difficult to resolve the issues. One of
   the  key  issues is to resolve the Somali (instability) issue; that is
   the  problem  and  it  is  going  to cause problems across the Horn of
   Africa in the coming years.â

   Ali  also  says  some Kenyans do not hold confidence in the ability of
   the police to apprehend and prosecute the suspected terrorists.

   âKenya  has professional intelligence service and they have been doing
   some  good  work in the past in apprehending the suspected terrorists.
   (But),  I still have my doubts, though, about the hard approaches that
   have been used to apprehend the would-be terrorists,â said Ali.

   âI  will always recommend (a) soft approach, aside from addressing the
   problems in Somalia. We must find ways to ensure that the young people
   are  not  radicalized, they are not indoctrinated and continue to join
   the ranks of al-Shabab in Somalia and in the region.â

.