Kenya to Keep Troops in Somalia Backing African Union Force
- Kenyan army denies accusations its jets targeted civilians
- Al-Shabaab says its fighters killed 100 Kenya troops in attack
Kenya’s army will continue backing the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia and has no plans to withdraw its forces, spokesman David Obonyo said amid reports that its soldiers are pulling out of some Somali towns.
Obonyo also rejected claims by Somali lawmakers that bombing raids by Kenyan jets targeted civilians. Kenya’s air force has been targeting al-Shabaab, a militant group aligned to al-Qaeda, since the Islamist militants said they killed 100 Kenyan soldiers in a a Jan. 15 attack on a Kenyan army camp in El-Adde, southwestern Somalia. The Kenyan government hasn’t given a death toll.
“Were the people who attacked our troops civilians?” Obonyo said. “Those claims are not true, we don’t target civilians. We went there to protect civilians.”