The recent blasts in Kampala corroborate that clamping down on militant Islamists is more important than ever, concludes Gamal Nkrumah To be negative, you could say that the militant Somali Islamists are all over the place. They range from the sublime to the sinister. On Sunday night the notorious scene-stealers committed what is widely seen as their most heinous terrorist attack beyond the borders of Somalia. Two simultaneous terrorist attacks in the Ugandan capital Kampala claimed the lives of at least 75 innocent civilians watching the World Cup tournament finals in South Africa. Scores more were injured. The militant Islamists of Somalia are drawing attention to the chaotic situation in Somalia and are demonstrating with audacity that they are fast spreading their tentacles to the neighbouring countries. The international media did not find it hard to get access to the corpses strewn in the targeted restaurants of Kampala and that is precisely what the militant Islamists of Somalia desire. The blasts were a sobering reminder that the security situation in East Africa is fast deteriorating and that the militant Islamists have the upper hand. Very often, Western powers do not know what they are doing or what the consequences of their actions are. The governments of East Africa, including Uganda's insist that they are determined to fight the militant Islamists to the bitter end. They are not prepared to withdraw their troops from Somalia and they are not intimidated by these wanton acts of violence and terror. Western powers are backing their African allies to the hilt. "If Al-Shabab's intent in orchestrating this was to somehow weaken Uganda's resolve, every indication we have says the opposite," noted Philip Crawley, a US official who also disclosed that Washington dispatched FBI and diplomatic security agents to Uganda to interrogate suspects and catch the perpetrators. United States President Barack Obama described the blasts as "deplorable and cowardly". What Obama did not say is that the US is embroiled in a proxy war in Somalia using the Ugandans and Ethiopians as human shields. Neighbouring Kenya also dispatched investigators to Kampala. Ugandan police chief Maj Gen Kale Kayihura declared in the Ugandan capital in the immediate aftermath of the blasts that the bombings only strengthen the resolve of the Ugandans to defend the interests of democracy and the Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia headed by Somali President Sheikh Sherif Ahmed. It was entirely in character of the militant Islamist Al-Shabab to be in the forefront of opening up this new front-line outside Somalia. However, the leader Sheikh Mukhtar Abou-Zubeir of the most militant Islamist group in Somalia, the Mujahideen Youth Movement, better known as Al-Shabab (Youth), declared the African Union Peacekeeping Forces in Somalia (AMISOM) and the governments of Burundi and Uganda who provide the bulk of AMISOM as "apostate and the enemies of Islam." Their target was an Ethiopian restaurant popular with expatriates called The Ethiopian Village and the Kyadondo rugby club, both packed with customers watching the World Cup finals. These were symbols of the far-reaching arm of the militant Islamists. The choice of this particular restaurant indicates the intentions of Al-Shabab to strike at auspicious symbols of the Ethiopian economic presence in Uganda and other neighbouring East African nations. The East African heartland has cracked into deep fissures. And, Al-Shabab seems cut out to be a delinquent figurehead. As the first day wore on, it became clear that Al-Shabab was responsible for the blasts. And sure enough, Al-Shabab claimed responsibility the following day. What is devastating about this blow to Uganda is the way the blasts have pitted the Ugandan people against its Muslim minorities and foreign Muslims in the country. The blasts come as a grim reminder of the terrorist attacks on the United States embassies in the Kenyan and Tanzanian capitals Nairobi and Dar Al-Salam respectively in 1998. Feelings of animosity towards East African Muslims have spread throughout the region. Tanzania has a Muslim majority population, while Kenya and Uganda both have large and economically and politically influential Muslim minorities. The young leaders of Al-Shabab are one of the most convincing of the new breed of militant Islamists. It was entirely in keeping with Al-Shabab to be in the forefront of opening up this new front-line. "We will carry out attacks against our enemy wherever they are," Sheikh Ali Mohamed Rage, Al-Shabab spokesman, told reporters in Mogadishu. "No one will deter us from our Islamic duty," he ominously threatened. The political establishments of East Africa have now become better aware of the militant Islamists. This isn't a new idea, but Al-Shabab colour it with their characteristic clarity and an eye for trashing the enemy. All this matters because what comes out the other end of this aggressive approach is a kind of political stalemate. The Islamists of Somalia threatened retaliation but had not actually took concerted action until last Sunday. This isn't a new idea or tactic -- the blasts are typical of Al-Qaeda. The militant Islamists had applied delaying tactics to stall the spread of their jihad outside Somalia. Until this week that approach appeared to be paying off. These bombings convinced many people in the East African region, including many so-called moderate Muslims, that something is fundamentally wrong with the militant Islamic culture that is spreading terror throughout the region. The Islamists are diffident. Of East Africa's Muslim communities, the Ugandan Muslims, perhaps, have been the most swashbuckling, the most entrepreneurial. The bombings shook Kampala to the core. The incident has been one of the most shattering disasters to hit the capital since the end of the Ugandan civil war in 1986. Less than a year ago, Al-Shabab notified the Ugandan and Burundian governments that it intended to avenge their interference in domestic Somali politics and they have finally done so. What is worrying is that they say that this is only the beginning.
