U.S. pledges 100 mln USD to boost counter-terrorism efforts in Kenya

NAIROBI, May 4

The United States government will provide 100 million dollars this year to boost the war against terrorism in Kenya, visiting Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Monday.
Kerry told a news conference in Nairobi that Washington will also support deradicalization programs to cushion Kenyan youth from joining terror networks.
“As part of our commitment to help Kenya combat terrorism, we’ll provide 100 million dollars to strengthen counter-terrorism strategies like border security, law enforcement and intelligence sharing,” said Kerry who arrived in Nairobi on Sunday. Kerry noted that terrorism is a global challenge that requires a collective response from the international community. “Violent extremism is a threat to all of us and we require a comprehensive strategy to defeat this vice. America has experience in fighting terrorism and will lend our support to boost Kenya’s response to this threat,” said Kerry.
His three-day visit to Kenya will focus on cooperation in the war against terrorism, trade, refugees and regional conflicts.
The U.S. Secretary of State said Washington will support counter-terrorism efforts that do not violate human rights. At the same time, Kerry said the U.S. will support Kenya to cope with the burden of refugees from war-torn neighboring states. “Kenya requires global support to help deal with refugees fleeing from violence. There is need to support peace and reconstruction in Somalia and South Sudan in order to reduce the refugee burden,” said Kerry.
He revealed the U.S. will provide 45 million dollars to the UN refugee agency to ensure livelihoods programs for the displaced are not disrupted. Meanwhile, the United States supports orderly repatriation of Somalia refugees once the country is stable.”Dadaab refugee camps in northern Kenya will remain open until peace and stability is restored in Somalia. There is an urgency to resolve regional conflicts to stem flow of displaced persons to Kenya,” Kerry said. He added the United States will extend support to the African Union mission in Somalia to help root out Al-Shabaab militants and rebuild political institutions in the horn of African state.

(Xinhua)

Posted by admin on May 13 2015. Filed under African News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry