Kenya at war: Al-Shabaab and its enemies in Eastern Africa
Type
Publication
Authors
Category
Publication Year
2015
Publisher
African Affairs, United Kingdom
URL
[ private ]
Volume
V114
Pages
27p
Subject
Kenya, East Africa, Al-Shabaab, Operation Linda Nchi
Tags
Abstract
Kenya's invasion of southern Somalia, which began in October 2011, has turned into an occupation of attrition – while “blowback” from the invasion has consolidated in a series of deadly Al-Shabaab attacks within Kenya. This article reviews the background to the invasion, Operation Linda Nchi, and the prosecution of the war by Kenya's Defence Forces up to the capture of the city of Kismayo and the contest to control its lucrative port. The second section discusses Al-Shabaab's response, showing how the movement has reinvented itself to take the struggle into Kenya. We conclude that while the military defeat of Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia seems inevitable, such a victory may become irrelevant to Kenya's ability to make a political settlement with its Somali and wider Muslim communities at home.
Description
27 p.; 26 cm
Number of Copies
1