by CYRUS OMBATI
Wednesday January 29, 2025
At least 11 soldiers from the Somali National Army surrendered to Kenya at the Hulugho border.
Officials said the group was armed with rifles with more than 1,000 bullets when they surrendered on Sunday evening, witnesses and military officials said.
Locals reported that a group of the Somali National Army was heading for Garabey, Kenya, near the main border.
This prompted Kenya Defence Forces personnel and other multi-agencies to move to the area, where they found the defectors already sited and waiting for further instructions.
According to officials, some of the defectors were Kenyans.
One of the defectors had an AK47 rifle with 30 bullets, another had a Rocket Propelled Grenade launcher and three pieces of warhead while the third individual was armed with a PKM with 267 bullets.
The fourth soldier had an AK47 rifle with 30 bullets, another had an AK47 with 120 bullets while the sixth soldier had a similar rifle with 120 bullets.
Officials said another soldier was armed with an AK47 rifle with 120 bullets and another one had a similar weapon with 30 bullets.
A ninth soldier was carrying an AK47 rifle with 60 bullets while the tenth one had a similar weapon and 46 bullets.
The eleventh soldier, a Kenyan was not armed, officials said.
They told the Kenyan team they defected because of harassment and discrimination.
There was no immediate comment from the KDF in Nairobi and SNA over the latest developments.
Sources said the Somali nationals will be taken back to Mogadishu while the Kenyans will be debriefed for further action.
The area where they were escaping from, which is in Jubaland has been experiencing clashes between local soldiers and those from SNA.
Last December, at least 300 SNA soldiers surrendered to Kenya after being overrun by Jubaland forces in brief clashes in the Raaskambooni area near the main border.