Somalia dismissed the probe report on Kenya’s involvement in its internal affairs

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MOGADISHU, 28 January, 2021 (TON): Somalia denied the findings of a fact-finding commission on Wednesday, saying that it has not given any evidence that Kenya is taking part in its affairs.

A report by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an eight-country trade bloc in Africa comprising governments from the Horn of Africa, Nile Valley and the African Great Lakes, also said on Tuesday that Kenya was not arming militants to attack and destabilize areas in Somalia along the border shared between the two.

“The commission considers that these grievances, some of which are longstanding, do not appear sufficient to justify a diplomatic separation between Kenya and Somalia. It is true that the federal government of Somalia is sovereign in its decisions,” a part of the IGAD report read.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Information Ministry of Somalia said, “The federal government of Somalia has described as unrealistic a report issued by the newly-appointed fact-finding committee on a case filed by the Somali government against the Kenyan government.”

Osman Dubbe, Somali Minister for Information, Culture and Tourism reported to the media that the report was “biased”, adding “The outcome of their report came as a shock to us. The report is one-sided. They [investigators] refused to go to the Somali territory. They went to Kenya twice, they went to Mandera. We wanted them to visit the Gedo region, but they refused to cross the border.”

On Tuesday, the head of the African Union urged Kenya to calm the situation and ease tensions along their borders.

Somalia, a Horn of Africa country, has accused Kenya of supporting armed fighters who engaged Somali forces on Monday, a fight that claimed 11 lives.

On the other hand, Kenya wanted the conflict to be ended and distanced itself from the allegations.

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