NAIROBI (Somaliguardian) Somalia’s spy chief mahad Salad and his Kenyan counterpart Philip Wachira Kameru discussed efforts to step up fight against Al-Qaeda-aligned militant group Al-Shabaab, Caasimada Online news website reported on Wednesday.
Just weeks after his appointment, Mahad Salad who was critic of the former Somali President, reached an agreement with Kameru to resume cooperation on the war against Islamist insurgents and efforts to tackle other cross-border crimes following years-long hiatus.
Among the issues raised during the meeting were indiscriminate Kenyan air strikes that have killed many Somalis and their livestock herds in Gedo region over the past years. Salad urged Kenyan security officials not to carry out strikes without coordination with the Somali federal government in order to minimize civilian casualties, but it has not yet been clear if Kenya will cease its deadly air raids on Somali civilians in the region.
Kenyan warplanes have destroyed telecommunication masts belonging to Hormuud and Somtel Telecom giants, “massacred” civilians and killed hundreds of livestock in strikes conducted over the past years. Agreements reached in the past failed to limit casualties inflicted by the air raids on civilians.
The talks have come after Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud inked a deal with his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta last week to reset diplomatic relations and resume multi-faceted cooperation on areas, including security and defense. read more
The United States, in a statement on Monday, welcomed the deal, saying it would benefit citizens of the two countries and those of the entire East Africa region.
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