Ruto gives timeline for KDF withdrawal from Somalia

NAIROBI, Kenya - The Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] will start to withdraw strategically from Somalia in 2024, President William Ruto said, a move which he believes will allow the country to stabilize after years of inter-clan conflicts and the latest threat of Al-Shabaab dominance across the country.

While launching the State of Immigration in East and the Horn of Africa Report in Nairobi, Ruto said the number of KDF troops serving in the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] will be downsized soon. There are close to 3,500 soldiers serving in Somalia annually since 2012.

"We are working with our brothers and sisters in Somalia. Even as the drawdown of the troops is expected by next year, we have a concrete plan on how Somalia is going to move on as a state," the Head of State stated.

The Kenya Defence Forces [KDF] soldiers are among those deployed to Somalia beginning on October 16, 2011, to pursue the insurgence group Al Shabaab. The soldiers were integrated into the African Union Mission in Somalia [AMISOM] which has since transited into ATMIS following changes.

His statement comes barely a week after Troops Contributing Countries and stakeholders on Somalia's stability met in Kampala, Uganda to discuss the future of ATMIS, which is undergoing financial distress. It was agreed that from June 2023, the AU activates strategic withdrawals starting with 2,000 soldiers.

But the agreement also comes a few months after Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti were allowed to dispatch non-ATMIS troops to Somalia to help in the second phase of operations against Al-Shabaab which is yet to commence. On Monday, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud revealed that the soldiers will serve under local command for three months.

ATMIS, the US Africa Command, and the local militia have been instrumental in the fight against Al-Shabaab militants by giving the Somali National Army necessary backup. The first phase saw over 3,000 militants killed according to official reports by the federal government of Somalia.

GAROWE ONLINE