by Yassin Juma
NAIROBI
Somalia and Kenya are in a diplomatic row over an ongoing Kenyan security operation that has seen thousands of Somalis, including a diplomat, being rounded up in a few weeks.
Somali Ambassador Mohamed Nur has been recalled to Mogadishu for consultations after the recent brief detention of Siyad Mohamud Shire, a political consular at the Somali Embassy in Kenya.
"I met Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed after I was recalled and he is demanding that Kenya give sufficient answers on the arrest of Mr. Shire," Nur told Anadolu Agency in a phone interview from Mogadishu.
Somalia has dismissed the detention of Shire as "a violation of diplomatic immunity."
Shire was reportedly detained on Friday.
"He was detained for almost five hours but through my intervention he was later released," said Ambassador Nur.
Kenya is yet to issue an official statement on the arrest of the Somali diplomat.
Nur said his government is also outraged by alleged harassment of its citizens in the course of the ongoing Kenyan security operation.
"My brief from my government is that Kenya should approach the ongoing security operation in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of innocent Somalis in Kenya," he said.
Following a recent spate of attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa, the authorities launched a wide-ranging operation ostensibly aimed at restoring public security.
The operation has seen thousands of people detained for screening, mostly thought to be Muslims from Nairobi's Eastleigh district, home to an estimated 50,000 Somali refugees.
Concerns
The alleged mistreatment of Somali nationals in the course of the ongoing security operation seems to have made frosty relations between Nairobi and Mogadishu.
"The Federal Government of Somalia continues to expresses serious concerns over the detention of law-abiding Somali citizens in Kenya," Premier Ahmed said in a statement, emailed to AA on Monday.
"Both our governments share the same security concerns, but the continued detention of innocent Somalis only serves to create an atmosphere of fear and mistrust that will result in dividing our communities," he cautioned.
The Somali government and presidency have been under immense pressure from Somali legislators to address the issue of alleged mistreatment of Somalis in Kenya.
This week Somali lawmakers plan to table motions in parliament that intend to send a message to Nairobi that Somali nationals should be treated with respect.
One motion calls for banning the multimillion dollar Khat importation from Kenya.
The crackdown has also been met with criticism by Kenyan Muslim clerics, political leaders and human rights activists, who say it discriminates against Muslims and people of Somali origin.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
