• + Comment now
• Print
• Email
• Tweet
• Reset

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi expressed their support for military operations in Somalia against al-Shabaab after meeting in Nairobi on Thursday (March 1st).

"The two leaders noted with appreciation that the ongoing operations by the Kenya Defence Forces jointly with their Ethiopian and Somali counterparts to diminish the threat posed by al-Shabaab insurgents is paying off," Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said after the meeting, according to China's Xinhua news agency.

The two leaders also welcomed the decision of the UN Security Council to expand AMISOM from 12,000 to almost 18,000 uniformed personnel. The increase in troops, they said, will allow deployment to the liberated areas to facilitate establishment of administrative systems by the Somali government, the provision of humanitarian support, and the return of internally displaced persons and refugees to their homes.

Kibaki and Zenawi reportedly emphasised that while the regional and international community is assisting Somalia, the Somali people must rebuild their country and Somali leaders must resolve their differences for the good of the country.