Kenya’s Foreign Ministry has accused the United Nations of bribing the Islamic terrorist group al-Shabaab in exchange for allowing the delivery of humanitarian assistance into Somalia.
Writing on Twitter, Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Macharia Kamau claimed that the U.N was giving ten percent of humanitarian aid to terrorists in exchange for granting the safe passage of food and other supplies in war-torn regions controlled by the deadly Islamist group.
“The contradictory and unconscionable behavior of UN organizations financing terror groups through payment of bribes to terror organizations to allow passage of aid must be stopped. UN must lead by a good example,” Amb. Kamau said on Sunday.
International aid remains a key component of Somalia’s depressed economy, following nearly three decades of internal conflict following the outbreak of a civil war in 1991.
“It is unacceptable that the U.N. sets aside 10 percent of its aid money to pay terror group for passage of its humanitarian assistance without guarantees that aid will get to recipients,” Kamau added.
Given that Somalia’s international aid budget is estimated at $120 million per annum, the amounts earned by al-Shaabab through bribery funding could be close $12 million. His remarks came soon after the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution ordering members states to enforce laws against terror financing.
Al-Shabaab is considered the deadliest terrorist organization in Africa that continues to control large parts of war-torn Somalia. The group has conducted multiple attacks in Kenya over recent years, with the most recent attack in January killing 15 people in a luxury hotel complex in Nairobi.
The Kenyan military has waged a campaign over recent years aimed at eradicating the group, although conflict continues to rage as al-Shabaab benefits from the arrival of Islamic State soldiers who have fled the Middle East following the caliphate’s defeat by the U.S.-led coalition.
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