Kenyan Defense Forces occupying the Horn of Africa nation of Somalia. The Kenyan government has invaded their neighbor in conjunction with an imperialist onslaught into the strategic state., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Kenyan forces join African Union Mission in war-torn Somalia
Fri Jul 6, 2012 4:50PM GMT
presstv.ir
Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) have officially joined the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in a bid to secure peace and stability in the neighboring war- ravaged country, Press TV repots.
The announcement was made during a ceremony held in the capital city of Nairobi on Friday.
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia, Ambassador Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra and Lieutenant General Andrew Gutti, attended the ceremony on behalf of AMISOM.
“We are proud to welcome our brothers and sisters from Kenya in this African effort to help the people of Somalia,” Diarra said in a press release.
"A major goal of the African Union is to encourage the collective defense, security, and stability of its members,” he added.
Lauding Kenya for its efforts to restore peace in Somalia, Diarra further noted that “The integration of Kenyan forces into AMISOM will provide a boost to the effort to secure the Somali peace process and help create the security conditions to enable much-needed humanitarian assistance to be delivered to the needy population.”
Integrating 4664 Kenyan personnel into AMISOM, the move brings the AMISOM force strength to slightly over 17,000 troops.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
The weak Western-backed transitional government in Mogadishu has been battling al-Shabab for the past five years and is propped up by a strong AU force from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.
Somalia is one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally-displaced people in the world.
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