Security experts are urging Kenya to close its border with Somalia and establish an all-arms forward combat base in the northern region to enhance the war against Al Shabaab and stop cross-border attacks.

This thinking advanced by Andrew Franklin, a former US marine now a security consultant in Kenya, comes in the wake of the twin Mandera attacks, where Al Shabaab militants killed more than 60 people before crossing back into Somalia. 

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Mr Franklin also said that the Kenya Defence Forces have failed to secure the border with Somalia because human resources have been committed to the Amisom forces.

“I would advise the Kenyan government to withdraw its troops from the Amisom ranks because as it is currently, we are having a lot of homeland security challenges and their continued operations within Amisom isn’t helping this situation,” Mr Franklin said.

Kenya Defence Forces moved into southern Somalia in October 2011 to pursue Al Shabaab after a series of kidnappings of tourists along the border. The troops from Kenya were later formally integrated into Amisom on February 22, 2012 after the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2036.

Currently, there are 3,664 troops from Kenya after they pulled out a battalion when 850 Sierra Leonean troops arrived. Major General Francis Nthenge from Kenya is Amisom’s Deputy Force Commander Support and Sector 2 is commanded by Brigadier Walter Koipaton Raria.

Mr Franklin, however, admits that KDF withdrawal may not be feasible because KDF is now legally committed to Amisom and a unilateral withdrawal of these troops would violate the government’s commitment to international agreements.

KDF ground combat elements are currently under Sector 2 of Amisom in Kismayu while Al Shabaab seems to have changed tack and is using a brigade based closed to the Kenya-Somali border to launch attacks against Kenya citizens, vulnerable police posts and government facilities in Mandera, Garissa and Wajir.

Mr Franklin also said that another solution to the Mandera attacks could be to construct an all arms forwarding combat base for the KDF to withdraw into so as to be reconstituted into appropriate manoeuvre units capable of offensive action against Al Shabaab in Sector 2.

Closing borders

“The government can also consider closing the porous 700km border using concertina or barbed wire, and then have an exclusive one-kilometre zone with a curfew along the entire border.

"It can also establish properly manned reception centres to control entry and exit, laying of properly marked and mapped minefields to channel potential entrants towards these reception centres, and constantly patrolling initially by KDF along a military grade murram all-weather road within the exclusion zone before the function is handed to a Rapid Response Team comprised of specially trained General Service and Administration Police,” said Mr Franklin adding, “Ultimately, Kenya needs to implement the National Police Services (NPS) Act, 2011 so that the KDF can hand over its activities within Kenya’s borders to a reconstituted National Police Service Rapid Deployment Unit, supported by organised reserve units who will work hand in hand with the regular RDU elements to be permanently assigned to border control.”

In essence, the Wajir Combat Base would remain the hub for all security related activities in northern Kenya and would be under a National Police Service command. The Combat base unit will include officers from the National Intelligence Service, Kenya Revenue Authority, and National Police.

Simiyu Werunga, the Director, African Centre for Security and Strategic Studies, said that the current terrorism threats is an issue that the government can deal with decisively.

Mr Werunga said that the possible reason for the resurgence in these attacks is because Al Shabaab seems to feel that the government security apparatus is weak and easily exploitable.

Philip Mutua, a former intelligence officer with a foreign embassy, said that given that Al Shabaab have been pushed out of Mogadishu and their southern base in Kismayu, they are now operating out of weakness with a view to launch audacious attacks on a civilian targets so as to show that they cannot be wished away.

“Al Shabaab is exploiting Kenya’s weakness. Its poor border control. They know that they can slip in, activate a cell, launch attacks and slip out unnoticed. They also understand that Kenyan officials in these border towns are corrupt and can be compromised,” Mr Mutua said.

Mr Mutua said that Kenyan military is certainly one of the more capable African militaries that should be able to push back to its borders, secure it and ensure these cross border attacks do not occur.

Ethiopia, which has waged a campaign against Al Shabaab since 2009 has not had large scale terrorist attacks compared with other countries in the region contributing troops to the AU military mission in Somalia.

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Ethiopia joined Amisom in January this year after approval by the UN Security Council Resolution 2124 which authorised an additional 4000 troops to Amisom peacekeepers.

Its troops operate along its border with Somali and have managed to create a buffer zone which the Somali militants have found difficult to penetrate.