ICC Note: A top U.S. military commander says Kenyan and Somali forces are failing in the war against East Africa’s primary persecutor of the Church: al- Shabaab. The militant Islamist terror group carries a notorious reputation for targeting Christians, specifically, for murder and property destruction. On April 2, 2015. al-Shabaab gunmen attacked Garissa University College in eastern Kenya, murdering 148 people, mostly Christians in the most devastating persecution attack in Kenya’s history. During the assault, militant separated follwers of Christ from Muslims and murdered Christians execution-style. The U.S. military says regional forces remain undermanned and ill-equipped to combat the al-Shabaab threat, so Christians face threat of increased targeting and attacks.

By Kevin J. Kelley

3/10/16 Kenya (AllAfrica) – The fight against Al-Shabaab is failing to achieve its objectives because African Union forces are “overstretched” and the Somalia national army suffers “endemic deficiencies,” a US military commander for Africa said on Tuesday.

General David Rodriguez, head of the US Africa Command (Africom), offered a bleak assessment of Somalia’s security situation in remarks to the US Senate Armed Services Committee.

His comments stood in marked contrast to assurances of substantial progress in Somalia that other US officials have repeatedly voiced.

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