International attention has suddenly and tragically turned to Kenya and Tanzania following yesterday's bomb attacks on United States embassies which killed some 76 people and injured over a thousand - most of whom had nothing to do with these two buildings. Although they have not been claimed, the attacks were attributed by President Moi to Islamic fundamentalists. There is no doubting that such forces could have a motivation for these atrocious acts, as events in Sudan and Egypt confirm. But a premature rush to judgment should not cloud President Clinton's expressed determination to get answers and justice in relation to those responsible.
Kenya and Tanzania have been among the most friendly states towards the US in recent years, even though they did not feature on President Clinton's itinerary when he visited Africa last March. That trip, which brought him to Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, did much to repair the US's comparative diplomatic neglect of the continent and to open up debate on how best US trade and aid should be conducted. It certainly did not prepare his government for yesterday's horrifying scenes in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam and the security imperatives they set in train.
The one possibly significant piece of evidence available yesterday about who might have been responsible, came from a denunciation by an Islamic group of alleged US involvement in extraditing one of their members from Albania to Egypt, accompanied in the last few days by a threat to retaliate against US targets. It is a reminder that in several African states, notably Sudan, there are governments which have contacts with such movements. After these atrocities, we are likely to hear a lot more about them. In the Sudanese case, the long-standing conflict between the government and the rebellious south has reached very grave proportions. Millions of people are exposed to famine conditions there, making international involvement urgently necessary.
This week has also seen a rapid deterioration of security conditions in central Africa. What looks like a secessionist war has broken out against President Kabila in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, focussed on the indigenous Tutsi population which last year supported his successful insurrection against Mobuto. He blames the Rwandan and Ugandan governments for sponsoring and supporting it, but there is ample evidence of popular disenchantment with his authoritarian and corrupt manner of rule. In Angola, Unita has reopened its war against the government, much of which revolves around control of the diamond and oil trades.
These conflicts are being considered this weekend at a regional summit meeting in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, which will now undoubtedly examine the implications of yesterday's bombings. All concerned, the US government included, would be well advised to channel their efforts towards political resolution of these conflicts, in addition to the security concerns justifiably thrown up by yesterday's deaths and injuries in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.