US calls for concerted efforts, unity to tackle terrorism

irobi, May 4: The US on Monday called for concerted efforts to help tackle terrorism which is now a global threat. Visiting Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington would work together with the Kenyan government to ensure terrorism remains a thing of the past, and pledged its support to Kenya to curb terror threats, Xinhua news agency reported. “We should all unite in fighting terror because there is more strength in our solidarity than in any terrorist attack. Terrorism will always fail,” Kerry said on Monday during a visit to the August 7th Bomb Blast Memorial Park in irobi where he laid a wreath and addressed some survivors. “Terrorists cannot defeat countries united in the war against terrorism. We do have the power to fight back, not just with our military but also with our unity,” he said. The US’s top diplomat said terrorists, who struck the building which housed the US embassy in irobi in 1998, terribly failed in their purpose, noting that “terrorism will always fail”.

“The only place for Al Qaida, Al Shabaab and Boko Haram is in the past. They have no future,” Kerry said after placing a wreath at the memorial park in memory of those who perished during the 1998 terrorist attack at the former US embassy building. The simultaneous attack at the embassies in irobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on August 7, 1998, by an Al Qaeda-linked terror group killed over 200 people. Over 5,000 Kenyans were also injured in the blasts, which Washington said were carried out by Osama bin Laden. The Al Qaeda chief was shot dead by US special forces in his hideout near Islamabad, Pakistan, in 2011.

A section of the survivors who were blinded and crippled recently pushed for compensation and other damages from the US government ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit. The victims said Washington had forgotten their cry for help unlike the Americans who were given full support for their loss in both the 1998 blast and the World Trade Centre attacks on September 11, 2001. Kerry said terrorism should not be given a chance in the modern world in order to ensure growth in every aspect and reiterated that unity, alongside military might, was key in the fight against terrorism. “Terrorists have brought tragedies to Kenyans. Words are not enough to express our sorrow. It is with deep sadness that I lay a wreath dedicated to the many Kenyans and Americans who perished,” he added.

The US Secretary of State is on a three-day official visit in Kenya, where he is holding a series of meetings with President Uhuru Kenyatta and senior government officials, focusing on counter-terrorism measures, trade and investments issues. The visit comes at a time of heightened concern about attacks in Kenya carried out by Somali militant group Al Shabaab, which have vowed to carry out more attacks until irobi pulled out its troops from Somalia. (IANS)