Norwegian embassy in Kenya threatened with attack

NAIROBI (AFP) — The Norwegian embassy in Kenya and two local news organisations have been threatened with attacks, according to an email message sent to them and seen by AFP Thursday.

The message sent by a group calling itself "Warrior Brave" accused Kenya of "claiming Muslim territory" and detaining pirates handed over by foreign forces off the Somali coast.

Nairobi has applied to the United Nations for an extension of its maritime border, claiming larger sections of the continental shelf that would impact on drilling rights for the region's mineral potential.

The group accused Norway of backing Kenya's bid. It also said the Nation and Standard media groups were targets because they "are the enemy of Allah," but did not elaborate.

"Also we are targeting the interests of Norwegian government in the globe including hunting their diplomacies and tourists in Kenya," said the email dated May 26.

The Norwegian embassy in Nairobi confirmed receiving the email.

"We confirm that we received an alarming email and we have taken the necessary measures," Espen Gullikstad, the deputy head of the Norwegian embassy, told AFP, declining to give further details.

Kenya has suffered two terrorist attacks. In 1998 Al-Qaeda-linked militants bombed the US embassy killing more than 200 people.

In 2002 other Al-Qaeda-linked attackers bombed an Israeli-owned resort hotel near Kenya's costal city of Mombasa, where 15 civilians were killed.

The move by Kenya to claim the disputed seabed has angered Somali nationalists, who have accused Norway of seeking to secure access to oil resources in the area.

Nairobi has recently voiced fears that extremist Islamic groups operating in Somalia could target Kenya and many intelligence officials posted in the Kenyan capital have warned that terrorist attack alert levels are high.

Somalia's hardline islamist group Shebab and its allies, who control the entire south of the country, have demonstrated their ability to cross the border with ease on a number of occasions.

Recently, a Somali cleric who had reportedly criticised the Shebab over the latest three weeks of fighting in Mogadishu was abducted from the refugee camp of Dadaab in Kenya by hooded gunmen.

In 2009, Nairobi also signed deals with Western naval powers whereby detained Somali pirates can be transferred to courts in Mombasa, prompting accusations from some groups that Kenya was being used for what is tantamount to "rendition programmes".

Source AFP: