<p>As part of its national security plan to curtail terror attacks by al-Shabaab, Kenya has decided to erect a 435-mile wall between the two countries. ;</p>
<p>As confirmed by Kenyan Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery, however, the barrier is not aimed to dissuade or prevent the movement of people between the two countries. ;The wall will serve only to inhibit Somali jihadists belonging to al-Shabaab, the Somali terrorist group responsible for killing more than 400 Kenyans since 2012. ;</p>
<p>The Somalia-based terrorist group has been linked with ISIS rival al-Qaeda and has reportedly been fighting with ISIS over land in Somalia. They are also fighting an insurgency against the Somali Federal Government.</p>
<p>The militant group targeted Kenya&rsquo;s Garissa University last spring, launching an attack that killed 147 people and wounded many more. They attacked a quarry in Kormey, Kenya just a few months earlier &#8211; executing more than 30 non-Muslims workers and dumping their bodies into the quarry. ;</p>
<p>In early March, the United States led a successful aerial bombing attack that ;killed over 150 al-Shabaab jihadists at a training camp in Somalia. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;This wall will help us check on people like al-Shabaab from crossing to and from Somalia. We will not limit movement of other people. There is a need for joint cooperation between both countries and our leaders in dealing with terrorism, which has affected us negatively,&rdquo; said Nkaissery. ;</p>
<p>Until recently, the armed and powerful Somali border community known as the &ldquo;Maheran clan&rdquo; had violently opposed the idea of a wall. Kenyan officials have blamed local clan militias for an attack this January in which more than 80 Kenyan soldiers were killed. ;The Kenyan government was finally able to secure the Maheran clan&rsquo;s support last Sunday just before announcing plans to build the wall.</p>
<p>The barrier will consist of a concrete wall lined with trenches and a barbed-wire electric fence. Electronic surveillance cameras will monitor movements on both sides of the wall. ;</p>