UK ‘wary of army in terror war’

The latest leaked American diplomatic cable on Kenya reveals that Britain prefers to work with the Administration Police rather than the military in the fight against terrorism.

The cable dated December 2, 2009, says that the UK counter-terrorism department did not trust the effectiveness of elite units within the Kenyan military.

The cable released by WikiLeaks on Thursday adds that the UK was instead keen on equipping the APs with a modern radio communications network to enable the officers undertake the task of patrolling the porous Kenya-Somalia border.

“UK CT (counter-terrorism unit) efforts in Kenya are focused on two key areas: Establishment of a radio communications network for the Administrative Police in the North East and Coast provinces for border security,” says the cable classified as confidential and prepared by US ambassador Michael Ranneberger in part.

The cable also says that getting “multi-agency buy-in” within the Kenyan government is difficult and that the intelligence service has primary responsibility for counter-terrorism but the police provide critical support, including border control.

The second key focus for the UK’s counter terror unit is the development of a special force within the Kenyan armed forces for intercepting terrorist infiltration along the border and transit routes.

“The Kenyan Ministry of Defence sees this unit as being a fully capable SF (Special Forces) unit. However, the UK assessment is that the unit still falls short of full SF capabilities. There is concern that the unit might be diverted from CT to perform other duties. The unit also has yet to be tested under operational conditions,” the cable says.

Kenyan military forces have been undertaking border patrols along the 682-km border, which was closed in December 2006, fearing an escalation of violence and attacks by fighters loyal to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terror network.

The cable is derived from discussions held in October 2009 between the US State Department coordinator for the East Africa Regional Strategic Initiative and UK officers from several North and East Africa missions as well as London-based Foreign and Commonwealth Office specialists in Addis Ababa.

By NATION CORRESPONDENT

Posted Sunday, February 6 2011 at 22:10