Somalia, Kenya agree to form team to ease tensions

[Deeq A.]

Kenya and Somalia have agreed to resolve tensions between the two countries by appointing respective teams to solve the issues.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somalia counterpart Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo agreed in a phone conversation to appoint committees to look into several matters including border security.

Tensions between Nairobi and Mogadishu simmered Monday after heavy fighting broke out between Somalia’s forces and militia allied to a fugitive regional security minister near the Mandera border.

On Wednesday, President Kenyatta accused Somalia of “flagrant breach” of Kenya’s territorial integrity.

In the latest step in their strained relations, the President, who chaired a National Security Council meeting, said he had noted Somalia’s National Army soldiers had fought on Kenyan land, causing tension and harassing residents of Mandera.

The President’s spokesperson, Kanze Dena-Moraro, stopped short of saying Kenya had been invaded by foreign soldiers but accused Somalia of breaching international law on military battles.

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