Intergovernmental Authority on Development salutes Kenya for dealing with Westgate Mall attackers

By Bernard Oginga

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has sent a congratulatory message to Kenyans following the way they handled the Westgate Mall attack.

A statement from IGDA’s Executive Secretary Mahboub Maalim has also congratulated President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) on the way they handled the unfortunate, tragic situation “in the most professional and delicate manner it deserved”.

“I salute the gallant men and women of the Kenyan security agencies whose colleagues paid the ultimate price while confronting the terrorists,” Maalim said in the statement.  

Maalim also reaffirmed the commitment of the eight-member regional organization and the international community to work together to stem out the menace of terror in the region as a whole and Somalia in particular.

“Let it be known that these terrorists shall neither discourage IGAD and the Member States in their collective efforts in Somalia nor intimidate AMISOM forces into pulling out of Somalia until total peace and stability has been achieved” he noted in the statement sent from New York.  

IGAD has also appealed to the international community to support Kenya at this hour of need, as well as back regional efforts to fight all forms of terror.