A TV presenter outside the Westgate Mall as smoke rises from the building on September 23, 2013. AFP PHOTO / CARL DE SOUZA/FILE
Successes achieved by US-supported African
forces fighting al-Shabaab in Somalia led to the deadly attack on
Nairobi's Westgate Mall, the head of the US Africa Command (Africom)
said on Wednesday.
"This really validates our strategy," declared Africom Commander Gen David Rodriguez.
The
same affirmative interpretation was offered by Assistant Secretary of
State for Africa Linda Thomas-Greenfield who joined Gen Rodriguez in a
State Department teleconference with reporters.
The
Westgate massacre showed Shabaab is resorting to hitting "soft targets
because other targets are being made harder for them to go after," the
top US diplomat for Africa said.
"It highlighted to us
we were pursuing the right strategy," Assistant Secretary
Thomas-Greenfield said in regard to Shabaab's targeting of a shopping
mall.
"We need to bolster that strategy," she added.
Ms
Thomas-Greenfield offered a noncommittal response to a question
regarding the US response to the African Union's call for a deferral of
the ICC cases against Kenya's leaders.
"We are reviewing that, as others are reviewing that request," she said.
"We
are very, very aware of the Kenyans' concern about having to deal with
Westgate," Ms Thomas-Greenfield added in regard to the AU's argument
that the cases would distract Kenya's leaders from the fight against
terrorism.
But the assistant secretary of state
reiterated the US position of encouraging the Kenyan government to
continue to cooperate with the ICC.
"We think that it
is extraordinarily important for the victims of the violence that
occurred in Kenya in 2007," Ms Thomas-Greenfield said.
SOURCE: DAILY NATIONAL
SOURCE: DAILY NATIONAL
