US Plays Down Use Of Kenya As Base

NAIROBI, Thursday - US officials yesterday played down speculation that Washington planned to use Kenya as a base for an assault on neighbouring Somalia, stressing that Afghanistan was still the focus of its war against terrorism. “During last week’s visit to Kenya by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner, he (Kansteiner) did not discuss (with Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi) any operational issues concerning the use of Kenyan facilities or military bases,” a spokesman at the US embassy in Nairobi said. He was speaking amid numerous media reports — none of them confirmed — that Washington planned to target suspected terrorists, or groups linked to terrorists, in Somalia. On Wednesday, Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper led with a story headlined “US wants Kenya base for war on terrorism”. Kenya was earlier in the limelight when British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon visited Moi in Nairobi on Monday. “They discussed the current international security situation,” the British High Commission said. AFP Ends