Hargeisa-21,November,2011-(Berberanews)-The Kenyan government have been recently lobbying and requesting assistance from powerful nations i.e. USA in establishing a secure buffer state called Juba state in its fight against Al-Shabaab. This new safety buffer state is said to be headed by a former Somali defence minister.
A high level meeting between Kenyan Foreign Minister Wetangula and US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson was said to have taken place. The principle for the meeting was to get US government support for Kenya’s Jubaland invasion. A classified diplomatic cable leaked by Wiki leaks lays out one of the meetings held to get US support for a covert invasion and then subsequent Kenyan controlled proxy government in a region called Jubaland.
Jubaland is the southernmost tip of Somalia that borders Kenya with Kismayo as its commercial center. The region was ruled by a series of sultans until it became part of the British East Africa colony. In 1960 Somali became independent and the area was resettled by drought stricken residents of central Somalia. The region\’s linkage to the British historical holdings and the clan affiliation of Northern Kenyan Somali\’s give it a natural linkage to Kenya.
The region is a center for al-Shabaab, the Islamic insurgent group battling for control of Somalia, and is a major transit point for Somalis who enter Kenya. Kenya has long struggled with the influx of Somalis and the security risk that comes with the influx of refugees.
Berberanews
Staff writer
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