Kenya’s Government Says Shabab Rebels Receiving Arms Deliveries

Posted November 2nd, 2011 at 5:30 am (UTC-5)
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Kenyan government officials and local media say that two unspecified aircraft have made a delivery of weapons to al-Shabab militants, who are locked in a battle against the Kenyan army in southern Somalia.

Kenya's government said in a statement that the planes landed Tuesday in the southern Somali town of Baidoa, which is under control by al-Shabab. The statement did not indicate from where the planes originated.

Kenyan military spokesman Emmanuel Chirchir on Tuesday warned that Baidoa and nine other Somali towns with an al-Shabab presence would be “under attack continuously,” saying residents should stay away from camps controlled by the al-Qaida-linked rebels.

Kenya sent an undisclosed number of troops across the border last month to fight the Islamist group al-Shabab, which Kenya blames for a series of kidnappings of foreigners on Kenyan soil.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday that it has resumed distribution of food aid to the 6,000 displaced people at a refugee camp in the southern Somali town of Jilib, following a Kenyan air raid earlier this week that left five people dead.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Somali Red Crescent again urged both sides in the conflict to take “all feasible precautions” to minimize and prevent death and injuries to civilians.

Kenya has denied that it is responsible for the deaths, but said on Tuesday that it would carry out an investigation into the claims.