US warns of kidnap threat
2007-09-29 17:04
Nairobi - The US government has warned its citizens that Islamic militants based in Somalia may be planning kidnappings at Kenya's tourist-friendly beaches along its northern coast.
Kenya closed its border with war-ravaged Somalia before the
New Year, when Somali government forces backed by Ethiopian
military might and US intelligence support, ousted an Islamist
movement in the Horn of Africa nation.
Kenyan authorities fear remnants of the Islamist movement
who fled the Somali capital Mogadishu may be active along the
border.
"The US embassy has received information that Islamic
extremists in southern Somalia may be planning kidnapping
operations inside of Kenya," the embassy in Nairobi said.
"There are indications that Islamic extremists based in
Somalia may be planning to target Westerners, especially
American citizens," the statement released on Friday said.
Earlier this year, the US government sparked criticism
among officials in Kenya's vital tourist industry when it issued
a similar warning for the predominantly Muslim coast.
The Kenyan and US governments have redoubled efforts this
year to track al-Qaeda masterminds behind the 1998 embassy
bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that killed hundreds.
US intelligence believed some of those militants and
others involved in attacks against Israeli targets in Kenya in
2002 were in Somalia during the war over the New Year, and may
still be there.
Some Muslim leaders in Kenya say the US government is
persuading local authorities to crack down on their communities.