By Ismail Warsame
Opinion Columnist

Kismayo is relatively small town, though surrounded by swathes of land controlled by Al-Shabab. Continual terrorist attacks without meaningful retaliation and failure to discover the active extremist cells in town is a sign of not only security service’s weakness and incompetence there, but also complacency of authorities and possible terrorists’ infiltrations into the ranks and file of Jubaland security forces.

These security lapses always happen when regional politicians are distracted by election campaigns and blindfolded by political frictions with the Central Authorities in Mogadishu, Al-shabab taking advantage of the situation. Similar attacks had happened multiple times in Galkayo, and Galmudugh, in particular.

Jubaland State should: 1. Review its response to security threats. 2. Restructure and retrain its security personnel 3. Do some house cleaning of state apparatus. 4. Monitor hotel residences. 5. Impose residence permits and home address requirements. 6. Notify home owners to register tenants with police stations.

Somali authorities at all levels of government should know that, as a rule of thumb, persistent terror attacks are sure indicators of failure of intelligence. Isolated terror incidents are understandable, but continual bomb-blasts in a town without appropriate countermeasures and prior information gathering to prevent attacks before they occur are unacceptable.

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