The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) are the armed forces of the Republic of Kenya. They are made up of the Kenya Army,Kenya Navy,and Kenya Air Force. The current KDF was established,and its composition stipulated,in Article 241 of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya;it is governed by the KDF Act of 2012. Its main mission is the defence and protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kenya,recruitment to the KDF is done on yearly basis. The President of Kenya is the commander-in-chief of the KDF,and the Chief of Defence Forces is the highest-ranking military officer,and the principal military adviser to the President of Kenya.
The Somali Armed Forces are the military forces of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Headed by the president as commander-in-chief,they are constitutionally mandated to ensure the nation's sovereignty,independence and territorial integrity.
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was a Somali politician and former colonel in the Somali National Army. He was one of the founders of the Somali Salvation Democratic Front,as well as the Puntland State of Somalia,the latter of which he served as the first president. In 2004,Ahmed also helped establish the Transitional Federal Government,which he led as President of Somalia from 2004 until 2008.
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990,the Somali Armed Forces began engaging in combat against various armed rebel groups,including the Somali Salvation Democratic Front in the northeast,the Somali National Movement in the northwest,and the United Somali Congress in the south. The clan-based armed opposition groups overthrew the Barre government in 1991.
George Musengi Saitoti,E.G.H. was a Kenyan politician,businessman and American- and British-trained economist,mathematician and development policy thinker.
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is a Somali politician who served as President of Somalia from 2009 to 2012. He is the founder and leader of Himilo Qaran political party and also the founder and head of the Forum for National Parties of Somalia. He is the chairperson of the Council of Presidential Candidates of Somalia.
The transitional federal government (TFG) was the government of Somalia between 2004 and 2012. Established 2004 in Djibouti through various international conferences,it was an attempt to restore national institutions to the country after the 1991 collapse of the Siad Barre government and the ensuing Somali Civil War.
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen,more commonly known as al-Shabaab,is a Salafi-jihadist military and political organisation based in Somalia and active elsewhere in East Africa. It is actively involved in the ongoing Somali Civil War and incorporates elements of Somali nationalism into its Islamist cause. Allegiant to the militant pan-Islamist organization al-Qaeda since 2012,it has also been suspected of forging ties with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Joshua Orwa Ojode was a Kenyan politician. He was first appointed to parliament on June 28,1994 to represent the Ndhiwa Constituency for the National Development party. In 2007 he joined the Orange Democratic Movement. He served as assistant minister for provincial administration and internal security.
Hizbul Islam,also known as Hizbul Islaami,Hisbi Islam,or Hezb-ul Islam,was a Somali Islamist group formed after four Islamist groups merged to oppose the new Somali government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. The four groups were:Hassan Aweys' the ARS-A,Jabhatul Islamiya,Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki's the Mu'askar Ras Kamboni and Muaskar Anole,the Marehan clan's Militia and Harti clan's militia. These groups previously took part in the fighting against the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia.
Azania,officially the Republic of Azania,was a self-proclaimed autonomous state of Jubaland in southern Somalia that existed from 2011 to 2013. A group of Somali politicians proclaimed the creation of Azania on 3 April 2011 in Nairobi,with Mohamed Abdi Mohamed as its President. The state's main intentions were to contest al-Shabaab,which largely controlled Jubaland.
Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas,also more known as Abdiweli Gaas,is a Somali American economist and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Somalia from June 2011 to October 2012,and briefly afterwards as an MP in the newly formed Federal Parliament. During his time as Premier,Ali is credited with having devised the formal "Roadmap for the End of Transition",a political process that provided clear benchmarks leading toward the establishment of permanent democratic institutions in the country. On 8 January 2014,he was elected the 5th President of Puntland.
Operation Linda Nchi had the Kenya Defence Forces enter southern Somalia beginning in 2011. The Kenyan government declared the operation completed in March 2012,but its forces then joined AMISOM in Somalia.
Hussein Arab Isse,also spelled Hussein Arab Issa,is a Somali politician. He was the Minister of Defence and the Vice President of Somalia of Somalia from 20 July 2011 to 4 November 2012.
The Battle of Kismayo was an offensive led by the Kenya Defence Forces,under the codename Operation Sledge Hammer,to seize the port city of Kismayo,Somalia,from Al-Shabaab from 28 September 2012. Fighting alongside the Kenya Army were Raskamboni movement militia and the Somali Army.
Jubaland,the Juba Valley or Azania,is a Federal Member State in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies 40–60 km (25–35 mi) east of the Jubba River,stretching from Gedo to the Indian Ocean,while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in Kenya,which was carved out of Jubaland during the colonial period.
On 21 September 2013,four masked gunmen attacked the Westgate shopping mall,an upscale mall in Nairobi,Kenya. There are conflicting reports about the number killed in the attack,since part of the mall collapsed due to a fire that started during the siege. The attack resulted in 71 total deaths,including 62 civilians,five Kenyan soldiers,and all four gunmen. Approximately 200 people were wounded in the massacre.
Operation Indian Ocean was a joint military operation between the Somali military,AMISOM and the United States military against the Al-Shabaab militant group aimed at eliminating the remaining insurgent-held areas in southern Somalia. It officially began in August 2014.
This article contains a timeline of events for the Somali jihadist group al-Shabaab.
