This archive report was first published on 31 July 2019.
On July 31, 2019, Kenya announced plans to formally ask the United Nations (UN) to classify Somali militant group al-Shabaab as a terrorist group.
The move aims to ensure more attention is focused on combating the extremists, who have caused havoc not just in Kenya but also in the region and the world.
Foreign Affairs PS Macharia Kamau stated that Kenya will submit a proposal to have the UN Security Council list the Shabaab as a terrorist organisation under UN Resolution 1267.
Resolution 1267, adopted in 1999, targets terror or militant groups like the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS, and their leaders, such as Osama bin Laden, sanctioning the groups and those associated with them.
Despite efforts by the African Union and the UN itself, the Shabaab has not been classified as a terror group by the UN, despite its pledge of allegiance to Al-Qaeda in 2010 and its recent siding with ISIS.
Kenya's troops are part of the 22,000-strong African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) forces, which were established in 2007 and include troops from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda deployed in south and central Somalia.
