Zadock Angira
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and other Amison forces now face a new challenge over the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) after the fighting capability of the militants were significantly reduced.
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU for Somalia Amb. Franscisco Madiera said the militants are now drawn from different locations and are fighting from unknown locations, with the attacks mostly aimed at soft targets.
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“Though we have reduced the threat posed by al Shabaab and other armed opposition groups in Somalia, we now face a new challenge of continued use of IEDs as a weapon of choice by the terrorists,” Madiera said “We need to find a solution to reduce the availability of materials for making these explosives in Somalia.”
Reports indicate that since the terrorists do not have access to state munitions, they resort to IEDs which are cheaper and easier to manufacture.
Brigadier Dickson Ruto, who commands the Sector 2 covering Jubbaland told People Daily that a number of IED-producing factories in Somalia have been identified and demolished.
Ruto said the terrorists were initially fighting from set or known locations before they transformed to an insurgency.
“We initially faced challenges since they had the local advantage over our forces whose troops are largely foreigners,” he said.
The IEDs are unpredictable, as they are not manufactured within the same set of specifications as regular land mines. Most IEDs are also cheaper and easier to manufacture.
As the forces hunted them down and significantly reducing their capabilities, the terror group resorted to planting IEDs along the routes before they disperse, and have also in the past used truck bombs commonly known as vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).
However, despite the efforts, some security lapses have been reported including the recent attack at the Banadir Regional Administration Headquarters, the Mayor’s office, in Mogadishu.
During the attack, six government officials were killed by a suicide attack when a suspected female suicide bomber targeted a security meeting chaired by the mayor of Somali capital, Abdirahman Omar Osman.
