Italian Priest Assinated in North Eastern Kenya

A priest was assisnated in North East Kenya, after almost 5o years of ministry there. His retirement to go back to Italy was just approved by the Pope, and his replacement had been named.

this assassination apears to have been set up low-level Somoli Islamic exptremists to try and intmidate the replacement priest. In addition there is adeliberate attempt to run

See the following for supporting evidance

-Shimron


By Catholic News ServiceISIOLO, Kenya (CNS) --


On July 14th....

An Italian missionary bishop who had just learned Pope Benedict XVI had accepted his retirement was shot July 14 outside the Isiolo pastoral center.

Bishop Luigi Locati, who would have celebrated his 77th birthday July 23, died at the Isiolo hospital about an hour after being shot. A guard walking with the bishop was wounded, news agencies reported.
The bishop was head of the Apostolic Vicariate of Isiolo in northeast Kenya. The region recently has been the scene of violence between the Gabra and Borana ethnic groups over cattle and access to water.

July 12th....

(From Answers.com) The Turbi Village massacre was the killing of sixty people by feuding clans in the Marsabit district of northern Kenya on the early morning of 12 July 2005. Hundreds of armed raiders of the Borana tribe attacked the Gabra people living in the Turbi area, north west of Marsabit. Twenty-two of the sixty confirmed dead were children, and over six thousand people fled their homes, most of them fleeing to Marsabit town.

The fighting was a result of competition over scarce water and pasture land in the arid region along the Somali border, as well as a recent political division along ethnic lines. The fighting in Turbi is similar in cause to that between the Garre and the Murule in Mundule in January and February of 2005.

Cattle rustling is relatively common practice in this region, and some reports suggest that the massacre may have begun as a cattle raid. The Gabra people, victims of the massacre, had been accused in June of stealing hundreds of cattle and goats. (click here for more)

Borana information : from a cached Yahoo page no longer available:

Religion: Their traditional religion is monotheistic with communication through intermediary priests or "Qalla". The traditional name for God is Waq (or Wak). Islam has become influential in Borana society in the last 70 years. The Borana around Isiolo are radical Muslims.
_____________________

Borana are connected ethnically to a larger tribal group located in Ehthiopia nand in Somolia click here for more

_________________
In recent years, the Borana "Ayaana" possession cult has been growing in Mandera and Wajir districts. At the same time Islamic fundamentalism has been gaining ground over the traditional Sufi mystical orders.

..[Ilsamic].. Fundamentalists have established NGOs and brought financial aid from Muslim organizations in Sudan, South Africa, North America, Europe, Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudia Arabia and Iran. (click here for more)

Italian Priest Assassinated in North Eastern Kenya

In Mid July, 2006 A priest was assassination in North East Kenya, after almost 50 years of ministry there. His retirement to go back to Italy was just approved by the Pope, and his replacement had been named. This looks on the surface like the anger killing of a mediator between two small tribes over cattle rustling.
It was, however, much more than that.

-this assassination appears to have been set up low-level Somoli Islamic radical to

• Try and intimidate the replacement priest.
• A part of a larger attempt to drive a tribe out-Not unlike the Sudan
• The traget tribe had begun to have converts to Christianity
• The offending tribe had significant Isalmic NGO infusions of goods, teaching, and training over the last few years.

See the following for supporting evidence

-Shimron

On July 14th....

An Italian missionary bishop who had just learned Pope Benedict XVI had accepted his retirement was shot July 14 outside the Isiolo pastoral center.

Bishop Luigi Locati, who would have celebrated his 77th birthday July 23, died at the Isiolo hospital about an hour after being shot. A guard walking with the bishop was wounded, news agencies reported.
The bishop was head of the Apostolic Vicariate of Isiolo in northeast Kenya. The region recently has been the scene of violence between the Gabra and Borana ethnic groups over cattle and access to water.

July 12th....

The Turbi Village massacre was the killing of sixty people by feuding clans in the Marsabit district of northern Kenya on the early morning of 12 July 2005. Hundreds of armed raiders of the Borana tribe attacked the Gabra people living in the Turbi area, north west of Marsabit. Twenty-two of the sixty confirmed dead were children, and over six thousand people fled their homes, most of them fleeing to Marsabit town.

The fighting was a result of competition over scarce water and pasture land in the arid region along the Somali border, as well as a recent political division along ethnic lines. The fighting in Turbi is similar in cause to that between the Garre and the Murule in Mundule in January and February of 2005.

Cattle rustling is relatively common practice in this region, and some reports suggest that the massacre may have begun as a cattle raid. The Gabra people, victims of the massacre, had been accused in June of stealing hundreds of cattle and goats. (click here for more) -(From Answers.com)

Borana information : from a cached Yahoo page no longer available:

Religion: Their traditional religion is monotheistic with communication through intermediary priests or "Qalla". The traditional name for God is Waq (or Wak). Islam has become influential in Borana society in the last 70 years. The Borana around Isiolo are radical Muslims.
_____________________

Borana are connected ethnically to a larger tribal group located in Ethiopia nand in Somolia click here for more

_________________
In recent years, the Borana "Ayaana" possession cult has been growing in Mandera and Wajir districts. At the same time Islamic fundamentalism has been gaining ground over the traditional Sufi mystical orders.

..[Ilsamic].. Fundamentalists have established NGOs and brought financial aid from Muslim organizations in Sudan, South Africa, North America, Europe, Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudia Arabia and Iran. (click here for more)

_______________

Tying this information together with recent activities in Somolia, This is more evidance that one or more of the multi-national jihadist organizations are moving on Kenya.

-Stay tuned for more on the Kenya Jihad

Al-Qaida's Online University: Jihad 101

Jihad 101 , a Spiegel(German News orhgajnization) article dated 17 July 2006 discusses the various ways Al Aquaida has taken their training and recruiting on line.
click here for more

Pray that the technology that produces training for terrorist plots fails to work.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. Government corporation whose mission is to provide assistance that will support economic growth and poverty reduction in carefully selected developing countries that demonstrate a commitment to just and democratic governance, economic freedom, and investments in their citizenry. For more information on the MCC, please click here. Key MCC operating principles relating to the award of grants include emphasis on economic impact, reward for performance, partnership with recipient countries, and focus on results. Eligible countries are invited to develop and submit grant proposals to MCC for consideration for financing under the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). Click here for more

US State Dept-Africa Overview

A small number of al-Qaida operatives in East Africa, particularly Somalia, continued to pose the most serious threat to American and allied interests in the region. Though it is unclear to what extent terrorist groups were present and operating in west and central Africa, the fundraising, terrorist recruiting, and other support activities of al-Qaida and affiliated persons and groups in South Africa, Nigeria, and across the Trans-Sahara region remained a serious concern. Terrorist recruitment within the Trans-Sahara, and increasing signs of cooperation between terrorist organizations and al-Qaida, was another disturbing trend. Hizballah continued to engage in fundraising activities in Africa, particularly in West Africa, but did not engage in any terrorist attacks within the region. Anti-American and anti-Western rhetoric from Islamic radicals grew in Africa in 2005. Many African governments improved their cooperation and strengthened their efforts in the war on terrorism. Both the African Union (AU) and African regional organizations undertook initiatives to improve counterterrorism cooperation and information sharing. Click here for more

The Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Initiative (TSCTI)

The Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Initiative
The Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Initiative (TSCTI) is a multi-faceted, multi-year strategy aimed at defeating terrorist organizations by strengthening regional counterterrorism capabilities, enhancing and institutionalizing cooperation among the region’s security forces, promoting democratic governance, discrediting terrorist ideology, and reinforcing bilateral military ties with the United States. The overall goals are to enhance the indigenous capacities of governments in the pan-Sahel (Mauritania, Mali, Chad, and Niger, as well as Nigeria and Senegal) to confront the challenge posed by terrorist organizations in the region, and to facilitate cooperation between those countries and our Maghreb partners (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) in the global war on terror.
The need for TSCTI stemmed from concern over the potential for expansion of operations by Islamic terrorist organizations in the Sahel. TSCTI was developed as a follow-on to the very successful Pan-Sahel Initiative, which focused solely on the states of the Sahel. Ongoing concern that Islamist terrorists continue to seek to create safe havens and support networks in the remote expanses of the Sahel, as well as the public affiliation of some terrorist groups with al-Qaida, led to its formal approval by the U.S. Government in early 2005.
TSCTI was originally envisioned as a five-year program based on counterterrorism, democratic governance assistance, a public diplomacy component, and military assistance.
TSCTI’s main elements include:
Counterterrorism (CT) programs to create a new regional focus for trans-Saharan cooperation, including use of established regional organizations like the African Union and its new Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism in Algiers. These programs include training to improve border and aviation security and overall CT readiness;
Continued specialized Counterterrorism Assistance Training and Terrorist Interdiction Program (TIP) activities in the trans-Sahara region and possible regional expansion of those programs;
Public diplomacy programs that expand outreach efforts in the Sahel and Maghreb regions, Nigeria, and Senegal and seek to develop regional programming embracing this vast and diverse region. Emphasis is on preserving the traditional tolerance and moderation displayed in most African Muslim communities and countering the development of extremism, particularly in youth and rural populations;
Democratic governance programs that strive, in particular, to provide adequate levels of USG support for democratic and economic development in the Sahel, strengthening those states to withstand internal threats; and
Military programs intended to expand military-to-military cooperation, to ensure adequate resources are available to train, advise, and assist regional forces, and to establish institutions promoting better regional cooperation, communication, and intelligence sharing.Click here for more

The Picture of a Terrorist Training Camp

the Public Broadcasting Company conducted an internview with Saba Khodada, who trained at an Iraqi terrorist Training Camp in 2001. In the interview he discussuess the presence of Iraqi and non-Iraqi terrorists in training. click here fore more . Though this is 5 years old, It serves to post it now when some in the US are trying to claim that The Iraqi Al-Quida connection was a myth.