The federal government in Somalia warned - today, Saturday - Kenya against the consequences of the military mobilization in the border city of Mandera, by arming a rebel group that it unlawfully hosted in order to destabilize Somalia.
And the Somali Ministry of Information indicated - in a statement - that the federal government is closely following the movements of the military mobilization in Mandera, according to what was reported by the Somali News Agency (SUNA).
The statement added that the federal government has learned that Kenyan forces have deployed weapons and militias in the city, in order to launch attacks on Somali National Army bases in Balad Hawa.
The Somali government warned its Kenyan counterpart against "the consequences of actions that undermine public security in the Horn of Africa, and reiterates that Kenya reconsiders its blatant interference in the internal affairs of Somalia, which may lead to destabilization and security in the region."
In conclusion, the statement affirmed that the Somali government will take "all necessary steps to ensure its political independence and territorial integrity, and to protect the dignity and honor of the people of the Federal Republic of Somalia," without explicitly explaining whether the military option is among them.
According to observers, the tone of today's statement is the sharpest on the part of Somalia towards its western neighbor, after a series of escalatory steps between the two parties recently.
Steps towards escalation
The Somali government announced - in a statement last Tuesday - "to cut diplomatic relations with Kenya, in response to the repeated political abuses and the blatant interference of the Kenyan government in the sovereignty of our country."
Despite the recent high level of tension in the relationship between the two countries, the Somali government's decision to cut diplomatic relations with Nairobi surprised observers and observers of political affairs in the Horn of Africa.
Before announcing the severing of relations, the Somali government had taken a series of escalating steps against Kenya, such as banning the import of khat from it, and imposing an entry visa from the Somali embassy and consulates in Kenya for holders of a Kenyan passport, while this was previously done upon their arrival at Somali airports. .
Somalia also summoned its ambassador from Kenya and demanded his Kenyan counterpart to leave Somalia last month, all of which were measures aimed at pressuring Kenya to change its approach and stop what the Somali government describes as its anti-Somali practices.
It is noteworthy that Kenya hosts about 250 thousand Somali refugees who fled the war and the ongoing violence in their country since 1991, and in late 2011, Kenyan forces entered Somali territory under the pretext of preventing the operations and attacks carried out by Al-Shabaab inside its territory, but these forces were later integrated into a mission African peacekeepers were formally held in February 2012, by decision of the UN Security Council.