Скачать или смотреть Kenyan Forces Pullout From Somalia

Members of the Kenyan Defence Force serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have ended their tour of duty and are being replaced by a new battalion to serve in the peacekeeping mission.

The AU mission is tasked with bringing security and stabilizing the Horn of African Nation that has been at wracked by conflict for over two decades.

The rotating soldiers have been in Somalia for the last one year serving alongside other African troops from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti and Sierra Leone that make up the peacekeeping force.

The troops are mandated to support the Somali National Forces (SNA) in the fight against the Al Qaeda linked extremist group al Shabaab.

Outgoing AMISOM Sector Two Commander Brigadier Anthony Ngere said that, "am very proud of my officers and men, who are going out, because we have gone through quite a number of challenges but we have surmounted them. For the in coming we want to encourage them to continue with the same efforts of bringing stability and security not only here in Kismayo but in the whole of this sector",

Kismayo was under the control of al Shabaab who used the lucrative port as a major source of revenue for its operations, until forces of the SNA and the Ras Kimboni Brigade with support from units of AMISOM's Kenyan contingent, forced the group out of the city.

The capture of Kismayo set the stage for the signing of the Jubbaland agreement between the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and the leaders of Jubbaland administration following their talks in Addis Ababa August 23--27th of this year.

The incoming troops hit the ground running and conducted daily patrols in and around the economically and strategically important port city. The patrols helped restore relative calm to the country's second largest city and Captain Patrick Njau Mukundi, a Civilian-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) Officer under AMISOM said the security situation in the area had greatly improved, "we have dominated this town with patrols and it's evident now that normalcy has returned. As you can see, the people are moving freely and doing business without interference."