For this post, I'm featuring some of the pertinent history between Kenyans and Somalis. As with many regional wars and on-going conflicts, it's nearly impossible to mark the beginning of the bad blood between the Somalis and their neighbor--again, not just the Kenyans. But the more I look into things, the more I realize that there is no innocent group, other than children, of course.
(Wikipedia)
In which ethnic Somalis of Kenya's Northern Frontier District of Kenya tried to unsuccessfully to secede from the newly independent nation state. The word shifta means 'bandit' in Somali; this is what the Kenyans call the conflict.
It was difficult to find an unbiased source about the war, but it is agreed that it was an irredentist conflict on the part of Somalis in the wake of independence for many nation-states in the region--nation-state whose borders were determined by European colonial powers without regard to traditional and ancestral lands. That the Somalis are mostly nomads is part of the problem as well.
Garrisa Massacre (1980)
Wagalla Massacre (1984)
(Wikipedia)
The Wagalla massacre took place on 10 February 1984 at the Wagalla Airstrip. The facility is situated approximately 15 km (9 mi) west of the district capital of Wajir in the North Eastern Province, a region primarily inhabited by ethnic Somalis. Kenyan troops had descended on the area to reportedly help diffuse clan-related conflict. However, according to eye-witness testimony, about 5,000 Somali men were then taken to an airstrip and prevented from accessing water and food for five days before being executed by Kenyan soldiers.
For years, the Kenyan government claimed that only 57 persons were killed. Then, in 2000, Kenya admitted that the original numbers were correct.
Somalia Timeline (BBC, UK)
The starting point: European annexation.
News
23 still missing almost a month after the attack
(The Star, Kenya)
TWENTY three people are yet to be found almost a month after the attack on the Westgate Mall by al Shabaab militants. Rescue operations that involved combing through the rubble to ensure there were no bodies trapped in the building ended two weeks ago.
Kenya Red Cross Society secretary general Abbas Gullet said the 23 are those whose family members have reported missing since the attack.
African Union Calls for More African Troops in Somalia
(Reuters)
AMISOM is made up of troops mainly from Kenya, Uganda and Burundi. Ethiopia has also sent in soldiers, but they are not under AMISOM command.
(Times of India)
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