Kenya, Nigerian Leaders Cite Growing Threat of Foreign Fighters

{Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta said many foreign fighters are joining Islamist militia groups in their countries, threatening the security of the region.}

In Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, an insurgency by Boko Haram has left more than 13,000 people dead. Foreign fighters are adding a “troubling dimension” as militant groups shift tactics to taking control of territory after staging attacks, Jonathan told the United Nations in New York yesterday. Half of the attackers were non-Kenyans in a raid by al-Qaeda-linked militants on Nairobi’s Westgate mall a year ago, which left at least 67 people dead, Kenyatta told the UN.

“From targeted attacks by al-Qaeda a few years ago, we now have mobile bands of thousands of terrorists sweeping across vast areas, destroying lives and even attempting to hold territory,” Jonathan said. “This is unacceptable, we must act now.”

Source: Bloomberg