Somali leaders in Kenya wants locals to be armed to fight Al Shabaab

Political leaders in Garissa yesterday asked the Government to arm communities so that they can defend themselves against Al Shabaab attacks.

Led by Kenya’s leader of the majority in Parliament Aden Duale and Governor Ali Korane, as well as the Senator Yussuf Haji, the leaders said during a meeting attended by current and former leaders that they would work towards ending Al Shabaab attacks that have paralyzed operations in the region.

Leaders from Garissa Sunday convened a consultative conference for peace, security and countering violent extremism and came up with a raft of measures to fight terrorism.

The measures include arming the local administrators like chiefs and providing them with at least ten police officers stationed at the chief’s camp.

The meeting also proposed that special forces be deployed to terror-prone areas as opposed to the current arrangement where police officers without specialized training are deployed and the Kenya Défense forces are deployed to man the border.