SOMALIA - U.S. COOPERATION WITH KENYA TO STOP

S E C R E T NAIROBI 001035 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/E AND A/S CARSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID PINS SO KE SUBJECT: SOMALIA - U.S. COOPERATION WITH KENYA TO STOP FOREIGN FIGHTERS Classified By: Ambassador Michael Ranneberger for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S) In light of recent reports of foreign fighters joining al-Shabaab and other Islamist militias battling the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) we are providing the following update on our efforts to help the Government of Kenya (GOK) to curb fighters' travel to Somalia. While we enjoy close cooperation with Kenya on Somalia, we will maintain our pressure on the GOK on the issue of sanctions enforcement and interdiction of foreign fighters. ¶2. (C) Diplomatically, we repeatedly raise with the GOK the need to control their air, sea, and land passages to Somalia, and to investigate Kenyan companies and nationals who violate sanctions on Somalia. We are working with the Somali Embassy to ensure the Ministry of Immigration honors an agreement with the Somali Embassy to enforce the TFG's requirement for visas to travel to Somalia. According Somalia's Ambassador to Kenya, Kenyan immigration officials have agreed to stop non-Somalis from boarding flights to Somalia without Somali visas. Nevertheless, the GOK only sporadically enforces the rule, according to the Ambassador. We will continue to engage the Immigration and Foreign Ministries to enforce Somali visa regulations and carefully scrutinize travelers to Somalia. Likewise, we will continue to push TFG officials to support their likely well-founded claims of foreign fighters with hard evidence: photos, documents, and recovered electronics such as cellular telephones and computers which we can exploit. ¶3. (S/NF) Post also works with Kenyan immigration and security services to investigate certain travelers to Somalia, when we have information regarding their male fides. Using the U.S.-provided TIP/Pisces automated database, and based on our or Kenyan leads, Kenyan officials target, detain and investigate transiting foreigners, including some bound for Somalia. Further information on these efforts is available in other channels. ¶4. (S/NF) We have robust law enforcement cooperation with the Kenyans to investigate American citizens' travel to Somalia. On our initiative, the GOK has held suspicious U.S. citizens traveling to Somalia. For example, we share suspicious American citizens' biographic data and flight information with Kenya's Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) and they take action in accordance with Kenyan law. Furthermore, our Diplomatic Security training programs help Kenyans to investigate organized crime, including terrorism. ¶5. (S) The Somalia-Kenya land border is notoriously long and porous, and unlike airports, there are no automated databases at border crossings to record the movement of foreigners into or from Somalia. Immigration officers record travelers in paper logs, and have few means to assess the validity of travel documents. Furthermore, there are reports of corruption at the border. Still, through formal cooperation with the Ministries of Security and Defense, including their intelligence branches, we share available information on those traveling to and from Somalia. ¶6. (SBU) Post also funds and staffs maritime and border security training programs not just for Kenyans, but regionally. At the newly opened Maritime Center for Excellence, the United States Department of Defense and Kenya will host courses on maritime security for regional navy, coast guard, and port officials. These courses will focus on halting the flow of illegal weapons, drugs and human trafficking. This year DOD will also help train the Kenyans and their regional neighbors on border security at three three-week courses at a facility in Nairobi. Furthermore DOD has provided training and equipment for the ministry of defense's specialized anti-terrorism forces, giving them the capability to interdict suspected terrorist operations. Through the 1206 counter-terror funding program, Post is also procuring radar, boats and other equipment and training for the Kenyan Navy, which will assist them in patrolling sea routes to Somalia. RANNEBERGER