Operation Linda Nchi | |||||||||
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Part of the Somali Civil War (2009–present) | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Kenya[1] TFG[1] Raskamboni Front[2] ASWJ[3] Azania[4] | Al-Shabaab | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Julius Karangi[17] |
Ibrahim al-Afghani[24][25] | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
Kenya: More than 6,000 security personnel at peak, including police[30] | Al-Shabaab: Total size of 3,000 "hard-core fighters", 2,000 "allied militants" at end of 2012[31] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Total: 21–72 killed, 152 injured
67 allied forces killed[nb 1][32] One Harbin Z-9 destroyed (mechanical failure)[39] | Total: 700 militants killed,[34] 61 captured[nb 2][32][41] | ||||||||
20 civilians killed (Somalia)[41][42][43][44] 6 policemen killed and 17 security forces injured (Kenya)[32][46][47] |
Operation Linda Nchi (Swahili: Linda Nchi; "Protect the Country") was a military operation in Kenya. In it, the Kenya Defence Forces were sent into southern Somalia in 2011-2012.[48][4][49] They were sent to fight Al-Shabaab insurgents .The Kenyan government said that the operation was done in 2012. After this, its forces joined AMISOM in Somalia.[50][51][52]
Some people think that the Kenyan government wanted to make a buffer zone between Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia and Kenya.[53][54] People also think that Kenya also probably wanted to be seen as a partner with the United States.[55]