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Is the US torturing Somalis in Kenya?

African Union (AU) soldiers stand with their armored vehicles near a checkpoint in Mogadishu, Somalia, Feb. 7, 2017. (File photo)

The US is funding security operatives in Kenya in what it claims is an effort to combat the spread of terrorism in the country. However, there are many accounts of innocent Somalis who end up being tortured and then discarded in the streets, whilst others go missing.

Kenya's anti-terrorism police officers have detained six terror suspects in the coastal town of Malindi and say that al-Shabaab militants are planning to use suicide bombers to execute attacks targeting key government facilities and popular public places which the police say should be put under increased vigilance to foil any attacks.This comes as the Angaza Foundation for African Reporting says Kenyan security operatives who torture Somali terror suspects in Kenya are part of a US-funded counter-terrorism strategy across Africa that is leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

For years, the US has propped up some of the worst human rights violators in Africa, a trend that UN experts warn may get worse under President Donald Trump, who has reiterated his support for torture against terror suspects, and has already started making good on his campaign promises to aggressively crack down on terror groups. In 2016, the US gave $120m worth of support to the Kenyan military and $8m to the police. The same year, Human Rights Watch documented 34 enforced disappearances in Nairobi and northeast Kenya linked to counter-terrorism operations. Meanwhile, it is unclear whether the US’s so-called “war on terror” in Africa is working. Attacks have quadrupled since 2009, and fatalities are up by 850%. While the collapse of Libya has played a major role in the sharp rise in numbers, as has the expansion of Daesh Takfiri Terrorism, failings by national security agencies may also shoulder some blame.


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