Context
Kenya sent its troops into Somalia on Sunday to participate in a joint operation and drive out Al Shabab fighters. Somali military commander Abdi Yusuf confirmed the group responsible for the kidnappings of several foreigners was being targeted; A French and a British national as well as two Spanish aid workers have been abducted by the network. He said fighter jets had struck two al Shabab bases in Southern Somalia and troops would move towards Afmadow. Alfred Mutua, the Kenyan government spokesman, said its troops had also entered the neighboring country to fight the al-Shabab.
Al Shabab leader Sheikh Hasan Turki in turn said Kenya had “violated the territorial rights of Somalia by entering our holy land, but I assure you that they will return disappointed,”
Al Shabab is a youth militant organization geared towards overthrowing Somalia’s transitional government and imposing Islamic rule.
