The Sunday News
The world woke up to chilling reports of a massacre by Islamic extremists, al-Shabaab, in Kenya on Thursday. At least 147 university students have been confirmed dead in that pre-dawn raid on the educational facility, the second such raid in Kenya by the same group whose mission is to spread terror in that country under the cover of religion.
We believe Africa should draw a line that these militant groups should dare not cross and deal ruthlessly with religious extremism around the continent. Just last week Nigeria was holding its general elections that Boko Haram, a militant Islamic extremist group, threatened to disrupt and now to the East of Africa al-Shabaab has struck yet again and gleefully claimed responsibility while threatening more “blood bath”.
This is a worrying development that calls for more concerted efforts across the continent to combat this rise in extremism since no country should feel at peace when parts of the continent are under siege. The militants also continue to thumb their nose at the African Union, whose resolve to crack down on the terror group in Somalia has seen Kenya bear some of the brunt.
Al-Shabaab seeks to put Somalia under Islamic fundamentalist rule, a mission that has been foiled by the international community that pushed it out of Mogadishu a few years ago.
Al-Shabaab on Friday threatened new attacks in Kenya vowing that these would continue as long as Kenya took part in a military campaign to deal with al-Shabaab in Somalia.
“There will be no more safe places for Kenyans as long as their troops are in Somalia,” al-Shabaab spokesperson Sheikh Ali Muhamud Rage said.
“You will see more deadly attacks in your country, Kenya,” Rage said. The African Union has 20 000 troops in Somalia helping the government repel the al-Shabaab.
While Kenya remains on alert following threats of more attacks, we believe the African Union and international community should lend all the support they can to the Kenyan people in their bid to rid themselves of this terror menace. The timing of the latest attacks and the target were definitely meant to inflict maximum damage.
Launching the attacks a day before Christianity’s most important period in the year, the Easter holidays, the extremists, who went further by vetting their victims and sparing the lives of Muslims in their attacks while killing their Christian counterparts, seek to divide not only Kenya’s citizenry but that of the continent and world along religious lines while also turning Kenyans against their Government for failing to prevent the attacks.
The continent should not allow the growth of such groups whose doctrines have been dismissed by progressive Islamists around the world, but should deal with them with all resources at its disposal.
Today, it might be Kenya being targeted but there is no telling where their attacks will end. It is with this in mind that regional as well as the continental body African Union should redouble their efforts to neutralise the fundamentalists. While we mourn with the relatives of the dead in the latest senseless killing, we urge calm backed by a firm resolve to lawfully deal with this threat on regional security.
It is quite crucial that citizens are not forced into forming vigilantes due to a feeling of hopelessness which is what the terror groups seek to instil in the population.
Such a route to tackle the extremists’ barbarism would be unfortunate since it would pit brother against brother in a futile religious war torched by some selfish individuals targeting certain resources under the cover of religion.
In the meantime, African countries should be on alert to thwart any attempt to cause terror within their borders since the extremists have shown that they have no respect for the current world order and its institutional underpinning.
