Addis Ababa, Feb 5 (IANS): Ethiopian and Kenyan intelligence agencies have launched a joint military operation aimed at dismantling a militant group along their common border areas, Ethiopia's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) has said in a statement.
The primary objective of the joint operation is to dismantle 'Shene', also known as the Oromo Liberation Army, a militant group designated as a terrorist organisation by the Ethiopian government, thereby enhancing regional stability along the border, the statement said.
Specifically, the operation aims to counter activities related to terrorism, contraband trade and the trafficking of people and arms.
The statement further noted that the operation seeks to implement security agreements focused on combating threats that jeopardise the national interests of both nations.
NISS said joint security forces from Ethiopia and Kenya are actively conducting operations in designated camps of the group within their respective border territories to neutralise its influence and promote peace in the Horn of Africa region, Xinhua news agency reported.
Kenya's National Police Service said the operations target criminals engaged in illegal activities such as arms, drug and human trafficking, illegal mining, instigating tribal conflicts, and kidnapping for ransom along the two nations' border.
Last week, experts met in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to promote peace in the Horn of Africa region.
The two-day Regional Validation Forum for the Horn of Africa Initiative's Peace and Social Cohesion White Paper brought together more than 100 delegates, including security officials from Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, as well as officials from international development agencies, to exchange knowledge and strategies for strengthening peacebuilding.
In his opening remarks, Raymond Omollo, Principal Secretary in the Kenyan Ministry of Interior and National Administration, said the forum presents a significant opportunity to reinforce the collective commitment to peaceful and accelerated development as well as social cohesion in the Horn of Africa region.
He noted that the region has made a collective resolve to improve the lives of the communities in the borderlands through peace, investment, and development because it has long faced insecurity, marginalisation, conflict, fragility, and underdevelopment.
Kenrick Ayot, the national focal point for Kenya at the Horn of African Initiative, said sustainable development in the borderlands can not be achieved without first addressing the underlying challenges of insecurity, conflict, and intercommunal violence.
Ayot observed that the Horn of Africa, with its rich cultural diversity and strategic geographic importance, continues to be central to regional peacebuilding efforts.