Al Shabaab ready to negotiate

The US military has begun flying drone aircraft from a base in Ethiopia, as part of its fight against Islamist militants in neighbouring Somalia. Their role is surveillance of the al-Shabab militant group - based in Somalia, and already the focus of drone missions flown from other bases in the region.

Kenya Army Fight First Direct Battle With al-Shabaab; 9 Dead: Kenyan forces killed at least nine al-Shabaab fighters in their first engagement with the al-Qaeda- linked militia since beginning an incursion into the country 13 days ago, the army said. Two Kenyan soldiers were injured, one critically, in the fighting that took place yesterday near Tabda, about 470 kilometers (292 miles) southwest of the capital, Mogadishu, Major Emmanuel Chirchir, spokesman for the Kenya Defence Forces, said in an e-mailed statement. The Somalia towns of Busar and Buarahache were captured and an al-Shabaab logistical and training camp at Anole was also attacked, he said.

Official: Al-Shabaab leaders contact Kenyan government to negotiate: A Kenyan government official said Thursday that Al-Shabaab leaders are seeking negotiations as the nation pursues the Islamist militants deeper into Somalia. Kenyan troops struck several Al-Shabaab training sites early Thursday, a military spokesman said. The revelation comes nearly two weeks after the troops stormed Somalia to hunt for Al-Shabaab, a militant group Kenya blames for recent kidnappings of foreigners in the nation. The group includes many rival factions with different leaders.

Kenya's military is said to be the most professional in Africa but they have never been deployed in a war situation in the region and this will be the first time they will go after foreign combatants who have threatened Kenya's territorial integrity. The more the merrier!

Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir, said that the United States or France, or possibly both, had stepped up airstrikes killing a number of Shabab militants. The French Navy has also shelled rebel positions from the sea, Kenyan officials said.The United States and France have not confirmed involvement in Somalia.

If Western military powers have indeed joined the conflict, analysts said, it could mark a turning point against the Shabab, a ruthless militant group that has pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda. It controls much of southern Somalia, though its young fighters and battered pick-up trucks are deemed no match for a sophisticated army..

The world is closing in on Al Shabab I am happy to say. Al Shabab was offered Amnesty about a month ago and they better take it while they can.


You may remember Somalia has a new militia faction that is about the only group in the country to go against the al-Shabab and win. The Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama - followers of Sufism or mystical Islam - are mostly volunteering students who say they have no political ambitions beyond expelling al-Shabab from the capital, one district at a time. Time to put them in overdrive as you will agree. Don't forget the Al Shabab killers Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamma

President Obama also ordered the deployment of 100 armed military advisers to central Africa to help regional forces combat the Lord’s Resistance Army, a notorious renegade group that has terrorized villagers in at least four countries with marauding bands that kill, rape, maim and kidnap with impunity. “For more than two decades, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has murdered, raped and kidnapped tens of thousands of men, women and children in central Africa,” Mr. Obama wrote in a letter to Congress announcing the military deployment. “The LRA continues to commit atrocities across the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan that have a disproportionate impact on regional security.” .

We are supposedly winding down in Iraq and Afghanistan so I guess an upcoming war with Iran is not enough we now have to try to "cleanse" Africa of terrorists. WTF?

James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com