The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has called for increased vigilance to blacklist and punish the financiers of terror group Al-Shabaab.
The stance adopted by the UNSC comes in the wake of occasional attacks by Al-Shabaab, with the two most recent attacks involving the killing of several dozen Kenyan soldiers serving under the Africa Union Mission to Somalia (Amisom) and another one at a popular beachside restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu, which left about 20 people dead and injured.
‘The Council (also) paid tribute to the response of the Somali security forces to these attacks, and underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of such reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice; … those responsible for these killings should be held accountable,’ the Council stated.
Previously, there have been efforts aimed at curbing the proliferation of terror funds, and last year Kenya ordered the suspension of tens of money transfer companies with links to Somalia.
Meanwhile, in a related development Michael Keating, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, has condemned the attacks, which were perpetrated against a people attending a wedding party and a graduation celebration.
“This latest atrocity by Al-Shabaab is very deliberately intended to intimidate Somali civilians,” said SRSG Keating, adding: “We will do everything possible to ensure that al-Shabaab does not succeed in its desperate attempts to frustrate the hopes of the Somali people.”
Early this week the Al Shabaab raided the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) Amisom base at El Adde and later claimed it had killed about 100 KDF soldiers.
In response, the KDF carried out several sorties (air strikes) and later announced it had killed Mwalimu Janow, the alleged El Adde attack mastermind.
