By Dennis Otim

7^th Nov 2011:

Donkeys caught in the heat of human battles

Kenya’s military spokesman has said large groups of donkeys in Somalia will be considered “al-Shabab activity” following reports the militants are using the animals to transport weapons.  Major Emmanuel Chirchir used Twitter to warn Kenyans not to sell their donkeys to the Islamist group.

Kenya, which unlike its counterparts in the Great Lakes region [like Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Sudan, etc] has been least known for warmongering, sent its troops into Somalia to establish what some analysts have called “a security buffer zone” after accusing al-Shabab of persistent cross-border kidnappings.

Al-Shabab on the other hand has accused Kenya of declaring war on the sovereign state of Somalia.  On Tuesday last week, Major Emmanuel Chirchir used Twitter to warn that al-Shabab camps near 10 Somali towns would soon be attacked and urged residents to leave.  By press time however, no reports of any attacks had filtered through.

He has also posted video which he says shows a small al-Shabab boat being sunk, killing 18 militants and warned aircraft not to land in the Islamist-held town of Baidoa, following reports that al-Shabab had been flying in new supplies of weapons.  In his latest series of tweets, the Kenyan military spokesman said that the price of donkeys had risen from $150 (£100) to $200 following the increased al-Shabab demand for the animals.

“…Any large concentration and movement of loaded donkeys will be considered as al-Shabab activity”, he said.  He also warned Kenyans against selling Donkeys to al-Shabab saying it will undermine the country’s military offensive in Somalia.

Al Shabab has been blamed for a series of abductions targeting foreign tourists to Kenya.  Among the abductees were a French woman who died in captivity, a British woman who was abducted from a coastal resort hotel after her husband was killed, and a Kenyan driver and two Spanish aid workers who were abducted from Dadaab refugee camp near the Kenya-Somalia border.

Al-Shabab, which is widely believed to have close links al-Qaeda, reported two weeks ago that it had killed 70 Ugandan and Burundi AU peacekeeping troops, a claim that the AU Spokesman flatly denied.  The AU troops are mandated to protect Transitional Federal Government [TFG] of Somalia.  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.