page_title: Somali Civil War (2009–present)
section_title: Kenya
hierarchical_section_title: Somali Civil War (2009–present) / Foreign involvement / Kenya
caption_attribution_description: English: Fighters of the Ras Kimboni Brigade, a Somali government-allied militia and troops from the Kenyan Contingent of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) are seen walking along a road during an advance on the Somali port city of Kismayo.Kenyan AMISOM troops moved into and through Kismayo on 02 October 2012, the hitherto last major urban stronghold of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist group Al Shabaab, on their way to the city's airport without a shot being fired following a month-long operation to liberate towns and villages across southern Somalia from Afmadow to Kismayo. Al Shabaab, the once feared and brutal extremist group, has lost a succession of strategic towns and villages across Somalia to AMISOM and Somali National Army (SNA) forces in sustained operations against them since they withdrew from fixed positions in the capital Mogadishu in August of 2011. AU-UN IST PHOTO / STUART PRICE.
context_page_description: The 2009–present phase of the Somali Civil War is concentrated in southern and central Somalia and portions of north eastern Kenya. It began in early February 2009 with the conflict between the forces of the Federal Government of Somalia, assisted by African Union peacekeeping troops, and various militant groups and factions. The violence has displaced thousands of people in the southern part of the country. The conflict has also seen fighting between the Sufi Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a and Al-Shabaab.
  On 16 October 2011, the Kenyan Army crossed the border into Somalia in Operation Linda Nchi against Al-Shabaab. It aimed to seize Kismayo and set up a buffer zone against Al-Shabaab. In 2012, Kismayo was captured.
  In August 2014, the Somali government-led Operation Indian Ocean was launched to clean up the remaining insurgent-held pockets in the countryside.
  In 2017, the 14 October and 28 October Mogadishu bombings were responsible for the deaths of over 500 individuals and injured more than 400.
caption: Kenyan soldiers and fighters of the Ras Kamboni Brigades, a Somali government-allied militia, 2012
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