Garowe Online (Garowe)
7 November 2009
Somalia Al-Shabaab group has accused Kenyan lawmaker, particularly those from Somali-inhabited region, for backing the secret recruiting of fighters from among young Kenyan Somalis to help the Somalia's weak government fight the Islamist threat.
Sheikh Hassan Yaqub, a representative for Al-Shabaab Islamic administration in Kismayo said the members of parliament from Kenya's north eastern region are responsible for the recruitment.
"Somali MPs in Kenyan parliament are responsible for recruitment of fighters in Kenyan border towns and we are warning them," he said.
Mohammed Gabow, the mayor of Garissa town, headquarter of Kenya's northern eastern province asserted to the claims and worries of many concerned parents who lost their sons in the exercise.
"The parents are claiming that their sons are been secretly smuggled out of the town in the name of army recruitment. It is shocking to hear that Kenyan government has indulged itself in such activities which can cause these region great concerns," the mayor told Garowe Online in an interview.
He accused the government of taking advantage of the rampant unemployment in the region to lure the youngsters with hefty money.
The exercise has attracted criticism from local and abroad with Human Rights Watch accusing Kenya of backing the recruitment of Somali refugees at United Nations camps in north eastern Kenya to fight for the Somali army against militant Islamist insurgents.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Administration in Kismayo has appointed Ali Mahdi as the new head of Kismayo port.
Ali has replaced Mohammed Sahal Lidle, who is appointed as the head of Development for Marine Resources.
Kismayo is a lucrative southern port city that is source for the insurgence activities across the war-torn nation, which has not had a central government for more than 18 years.
GAROWE ONLINE
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