Inside Story

Al-Shabab: Cross-border conflict?

Somali armed group storms Kenyan college campus, killing and wounding more than 100 students.

Al-Shabab fighters from Somalia have attacked a college campus in Kenya, killing and wounding more than 100 students.

Witnesses talked of masked gunmen firing indiscriminately as students were sleeping, or performing morning prayers at Garissa University in the northeast.

As with other recent attacks, Christians were reportedly separated from Muslims, with many being held hostage.

The town of Garissa is about 150km west of the border with Somalia.

The region has been regularly targeted by al-Shabab fighters, since Kenya sent troops into Somalia to fight the group in 2011.

Addressing the nation, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta extended his condolences to the families of those who had been killed, adding: “This is a moment for everyone throughout the country to be vigilant as we continue to confront and defeat our enemies.

“We have suffered unnecessarily due to shortage of security personnel. Kenya badly needs additional officers, and I will not keep the nation waiting.”

But is Kenya paying a high price for backing the regional war against al-Shabab?

And does the root cause of the problem lie within Somalia’s borders?

 

Presenter: Hazem Sika

Guests:

Dismas Mokua – a political columnist, and deputy president of Africa Axis, a Nairobi-based consultancy

Samira Salwani – a freelance journalist who focuses on east Africa

Matt Bryden – the director of the think tank Sahan Research