Kenya-Somalia Relations: Tensions expected to escalate over Al-Shabaab sanctions

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Tensions are expected to escalate between Somalia and Kenya after the Somali government objected to a move by Nairobi to seek new UN sanctions against Al-Shabaab militants. CGTN's Abdulaziz Billow has more from Mogadishu.

Somalia has objected a proposed move by Kenya that calls on the United Nations to list Al-Shabaab under the same sanctions as Al Qaeda and ISIL.

Nairobi is instead lobbying the UN to designate Africa's deadliest militant group as a terrorist organization under a new UNSC Resolution 1267.

ABUKAR OSMAN SOMALIA'S PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO UN "Al-Shabaab has been listed under UNSC Resolutions 751 of 1992. This listing has been intended to deny the group financial and material support to carry out terrorist attacks and include an arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze on members of the group as well as a ban on charcoal."

Aid agencies warn that the move will worsen an already dire humanitarian situation in a nation often affected by climate change - in his first briefing to the UNSC - the UN's top diplomat to Somalia, James Swan, warned that more must be done to address humanitarian situation in the Horn of African nation.

JAMES SWAN UN ENVOY TO SOMALIA "The humanitarian crisis in Somalia remains among the most protracted in the world. 2.2 million Somalis are facing acute food insecurity and 2.6 million are internally displaced fleeing conflict and drought. We must focus on legitimate Somali priorities for longer term development."

Analysts say resolution 1267 will have a chilling effect on international non-governmental organizations - some of which play a critical role in saving the lives of millions in the country.

ABDULAZIZ BILLOW MOGADISHU, SOMALIA "Mogadishu has also lobbied western aid organizations to seek Washington's help in objecting Kenya's proposal - former top U.S officials recently wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urging White House to block the move by Nairobi."

ABUKAR OSMAN SOMALIA'S PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO UN "Therefore, the FGS asserts that any current and or proposed measures which aims to prevent or combat violent extremism in Somalia should advance rather than hinder our common and shared objectives of achieving lasting peace, stability and security in the region."

ABDULAZIZ BILLOW, CGTN, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA.