Al-Shabaab militants attack US-Kenya military base: govt official
Nairobi: Militants from Somalia's Al-Shabaab group on Sunday attacked a military base used by US and Kenyan forces in Kenya's coastal Lamu region, a government official said.
"There was an attack but they have been repulsed," Lamu Commissioner Irungu Macharia told AFP.
He said the attack took place before dawn at the base known as Camp Simba, and that "a security operation is ongoing", without saying if there had been casualties.
"We are not sure if there are still remnants within," he said.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying they had "successfully stormed the heavily fortified military base and have now taken effective control of part of the base." The group said there had been both Kenyan and American casualties, however this could not be immediately verified.
Al-Shabaab said the attack was part of its "Al-Quds (Jerusalem) shall never be Judaized" campaign -- a term it first used during an attack on the upscale Dusit hotel complex in Nairobi in January last year that left 21 people dead.
The Somali militants have staged several large-scale attacks inside Kenya, in retaliation for Nairobi sending troops into Somalia in 2011 to fight the group, as well as to target foreign interests.
Despite years of costly efforts to fight Al-Shabaab, the group on December 28 managed to detonate a vehicle packed with explosives in Mogadishu, killing 81 people.
The spate of attacks highlight the group's resilience and capacity to inflict mass casualties at home and in the region, despite losing control of major urban areas in Somalia.
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India backs 'Myanmar-led, Myanmar-owned' peace process: EAM Jaishankar
New Delhi (PTI): India supports a Myanmar-led and Myanmar-owned peace process that can deliver lasting peace and development for all in the Southeast Asian country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.
The external affairs minister also highlighted the importance India attaches to its ties with Myanmar saying the country lies at the confluence of New Delhi's three key foreign policy priorities: 'Neighbourhood First', 'Act East', and MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions).
Myanmar is one of India's strategic neighbours and it shares a 1,640-kilometer-long border with a number of northeastern states including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.
The country has been witnessing widespread violent protests after the military seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021. The military-backed party secured a victory in Myanmar's recent general election.
Jaishankar was speaking virtually at the inauguration of the Sarsobeikman Literary Centre building in the heart of Yangon. The building has been constructed with New Delhi's assistance.
"As the world's largest democracy with 1.4 billon people living together in peace and harmony, India has regularly shared its experiences in federalism and constitutionalism with stakeholders in Myanmar," he said.
"We support an inclusive, Myanmar-led and Myanmar-owned peace process, that can deliver lasting peace and development for all in Myanmar," he added.
Jaishankar said the Sarsobeikman Centre will support the conservation and study of classical and folk literatures of Myanmar, as well as translation, archival work, creative writing, and scholarly exchanges.
"Myanmar lies at the confluence of our three key foreign policy priorities - Neighbourhood First, Act East, and MAHASAGAR including the Indo-Pacific," he said.
"Our multifaceted engagement, includes political, trade, security and cultural cooperation. When it comes to development cooperation, our engagement with Myanmar has been people-centric and demand-driven, aimed towards strengthening local economies and improving lives," the minister said.
Jaishankar said India and Myanmar have been bound together for centuries by spirituality, kinship and geography, as well as by language and literature.
"As Buddhism and Pali language and literature travelled across South Asia, they carried with them ideas, texts, and a shared intellectual heritage," he said.
