The Kenyan side does not seem to be very forthcoming with information on what happened. Al Kebab on the other hand has provided information that can readily be denied or confirmed. E.g., the claim that they have "confiscated"---yes, that's their word---28 of 31 vehicles they found in the camp, along with all arms and ammunition. Local residents have also been supplying the international media with all sorts of information.
Meanwhile Uhuru has made the sort of statement that is straight out of a movie (or borrowed without an appreciation of the context). For example, he has referred to the Al-Shabab types as "cowards" who will be defeated by "our gallant soldiers". By all accounts, including KDF's, there was nothing cowardly about the attack. Here is how the BBC puts it:
It says a lot for the insurgents to be daring enough to strike at the heart of an African Union base and engage troops in hours of combat.
According to KDF, there is as yet no concrete information on how many KDF soldiers died and their identities. But here is Uhuru:
In the present context, that's like a "
to whom it may concern" letter that has a small water-mark labelled "presidential tear-drop". Totally clueless and insulting.
The latest in the Daily Nation tells us that:
In the counter-offensive, KDF carried out airstrikes at Al-Shabaab camps where the attack was planned, using helicopter gunships and fighter jets.
They supposedly managed to determine where the attacks were planned even as the fighting was still raging. So, apparently, there are these
known camps where such attacks are planned, but nobody bothers about them until the attacks are carried out?
At some point the whole KDF mission in Somalia will have to be reconsidered, and it will have to include some things that manage to keep the "gallant soldiers" busy. E.g. charcoal and sugar. In the meantime, in doesn't help that the Kenyan Commander-In-Chief is busy dishing up random/thoughtless lines while the KDF goes into "denial" mode.
The loss of life is, of course, unfortunate. But it's an "essence" of armed conflict that involves willing and trained participants. Widows, children, and other loved ones of felled Al Shabab fighters are also shedding the same sort of tears as are being shed on the Kenyan side.
Topic: it seems like KDF has suffered Causulties in Somali (Read 6577 times)