Kenya accuses Somalia of attack on border town

ANKARA

The Kenyan government accused the Somali military of violating its territorial integrity and sovereignty, the presidency has said.

Somali ''soldiers in flagrant breach and total disregard of international laws and conventions engaged in aggressive and belligerent activities by harassing and destroying properties of Kenyan citizens living in the border town of Mandera," said the presidency in a statement on Wednesday.

''The baseless accusations and invalid allegations made by the Federal Government of Somalia that Kenya is interfering with Somalia’s internal affairs; are part of a growing and persistent pattern of ill intent to use Kenya as a scapegoat and a tool to justify challenges in Somalia for political reasons.

''Kenya will not accept to be used in that manner,'' it added.

Last week, Somalia issued a warning accusing Kenya of interfering in its internal affairs, including encroachment in the border areas between the two countries.

It called on its neighbor Kenya to “halt its ongoing violations” of Somalia's sovereignty and encroachment in the border areas between the two countries.

Kenya and Somalia have been on the verge of a diplomatic maritime row over a disputed 62,000-square-mile (160,580-square-kilometer) oil and gas-rich area in the Indian Ocean in the shape of a triangle that both nations claim.

Both countries claim the area as theirs.