Kenya says Al-Shabaab recruiting youths by force

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has said Al-Shabab fighters who have long battled for control of Somali forces and AMISOM forces are now forcibly recruiting youths at the Coast.

Chief of Defence Forces General Samson Mwathethe said the Somali-based Islamist group has lost its appeal to the youths and is now using force to recruit them.

“Terror groups like Al Shaabab have changed their tactics of recruiting and training people. Apart from the normal process of radicalising the youth, the groups have now shifted to actually forcing the youths to join them,” said Mwathethe when he visited his rural home in Jila Ganze, Kwale County.

Speaking in Kilifi over the weekend, Mwathethe said the Government is determined to hunt down Al Shabaab remnants and sympathisers in the country.

“Kenya is one of the many countries in the world which are currently facing the challenge of terror attacks and it’s the responsibility of all Kenyans to be alert and expose suspects to the relevant security agencies,” he said.

Burning schools Mwathethe also condemned the students unrest in the country. He said preliminary investigations had shown that students were burning school buildings for fear of sitting examinations.

“The Government will not take lightly the student unrest…such students will be arrested and get treated as criminals before they are prosecuted,” said Mwathethe who cautioned students against being involved in unbecoming behaviour.