Kenya Community Support Centre Executive Director Phyllis Muema. [Photo/Maxwell Ngala].

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Youth in the Coast region have been challenged to take up the responsibility of fighting extremism and terrorism in the region.A non-governmental organisation working towards achieving peace and security in the Coast region, Garissa and Nairobi counties has launched the ‘Tusemezane Vijana’ project geared towards enabling youth at the Coast to acquire skills on how to resist being recruited to join al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups.Speaking at Kisimani area in Mombasa during the launch of the programme, Kenya Community Support Centre Executive Director Phyllis Muema said youth need skills and awareness to avoid being recruited into terrorist groups.Muema said several youth security committees have been formed in Taita Taveta, Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River, Lamu, Garissa and Nairobi counties.She said the youth will be equipped with relevant training on security and terrorism issues so that they can educate their peers about the same.“We believed this Tusemezane Vijana project will help us save our youth from illegal and terrorist networks. We have suffered a lot as Coast families and we have to use international recommended ways of curbing the vice,” said Muema.Muema said the committees will receive training from the National Counter Terrorism Steering Committee as well as experts from the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) so that they are fully aware of how to handle such delicate security matters in the rural areas.“We will not leave them on their own as after the successful training we will issue them with little grants so that they are able to conduct their activities in the grassroots,” she added.The community activist said some youth have applied for purported international jobs only to find themselves recruited in terror gangs.She urged youth to be very careful whenever they apply for job vacancies announced by unknown companies.“How can an employer order you to surrender your national identity card before offering you a job? These are the things we will be highlighting during the peace and security training at the Coast, Garissa and Nairobi,” added Muema.