KDF Opens Up on Working With Al-Shabaab

The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has disputed allegations that soldiers in Somalia are working with Al-Shabaab militants to smuggle charcoal.

Last week, a report by a team of United Nations monitors alleged that the Kenyan team assigned to the African Union Mission (AMISOM) in Somalia, was not enforcing a ban on charcoal exports by the Al-Shabaab.

The report further stated that the soldiers deployed at Kismayu and Buur Gaabo were not assisting Somali authorities to curb illegal charcoal exports.

[caption caption="KDF Soldier"][/caption]

This, in turn, enabled the militia group to comfortably finance its activities due to the huge proceeds from the illegal trade.

KDF spokesman Col David Obonyo rejected as untrue the UN Security Council’s Somalia and Ethiopia Monitoring Group’s report noting that it was flawed.

He stated that the report was similar to the one the group had been making “with a little variation in wording, every year around the same time since 2012”.

Obonyo added that the Kenyan troops are only deployed to guard 150 Km of Somalia’s coastline. 

He questioned the SEMG report stating that it does not specify sectors where the charcoal trafficking takes place and who is managing those ports. 

“KDF is not in charge of the management of port operations in Kismayu. They are under the Somali Federal Government and Jubaland State authorities.

“KDF is not in Somalia to do business, but to enforce Amisom’s mandate. We are in Somalia to ensure safety and security of the Somali people.

"Kenya has made a lot of sacrifices to liberate Somali people," he remarked.

[caption caption="Al-Shabaab Militants"][/caption]

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