Kenya is now on high alert after fighting broke out in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Jubbaland region that neighbours Kenya along the Somali border.
The latest fighting will put President William Ruto, who was appointed the Chairman of the East African Community, in a precarious position. Kenya has already shown indication to support the defiant Jubbaland before but this is the first time the issue is rearing its head for President Ruto.
According to reporting from Reuters, fighting erupted between Jubbaland forces and the forces from the Federal Government of Somalia on Wednesday, December 11.
Reports from the region indicated that forces from the restless Jubbaland initiated the clashes. “This morning, federal forces from Mogadishu in Ras Kamboni, using drones, attacked Jubbaland forces,” Adan Ahmed Haji, assistant security minister of Jubbaland, told a press conference in the regional capital Kismayu.
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (left) and President William Ruto during a meeting at State House in Nairobi on April 12, 2024
PCS
However, Somalia’s Defence Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, in a statement, asserted, “Early this morning (Wednesday), Jubbaland forces attacked the Somali federal military troops that were deployed in Lower Jubba to take bases withdrawn from by ATMIS.”
This is pausing a threat to Kenya, which shares a nearly 700-kilometre border with Jubbaland. As a result, according to data from Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa counties have experienced almost four times the number of clashes between al-Shabaab and Somali and ATMIS security forces in July 2023 compared to the month prior.
The fight follows the Jubbaland elections held last month, where the region, which is one of Somalia’s five semi-autonomous states, re-elected regional president Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe for a third term.
This is despite Somalia seeking an Interpol ‘Red Notice’ on Ahmed, who has faced opposition from Mogadishu, led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
As of now, Somalia’s central government wants Kenya’s help in unseating the newly elected president of its largest federal state.
Still, the Jubbaland leader Madobe has remained defiant amid aggressive moves by the Somalia government, including indicting him for treason and deploying troops to the southern state.
Kenya has been front and centre in the infighting between the two, and in 2021, Kenya rejected a UN court ruling that decided mostly in favour of Somalia in the row.
Now, however, President Ruto cannot afford to side with one side as Somalia is a member of the EAC, which he now chairs.
CDF Francis Ogolla tests high-tech military equipment in Kismayo, Somalia on Monday, July 3, 2023.
Photo
Ministry of Defence
