Kenya: Bodies of fallen KDF soldiers start arriving home

She said the soldiers who were airlifted for specialized treatment were critically injured.

A sombre mood engulfed Wilson Airport, outside Nairobi on Monday night as the bodies of four fallen soldiers of the Kenya Defence Forces arrived home from Somalia.

The number for Gilgil is – 0790 780 864, while that of Eldoret barracks is – 0792 780 865.

“I salute our soldiers together with the Somalia and Amisom team for the sacrifices they are making to make Somalia, Kenya and the whole world a better place to live in”.

The father, Nicholas Owino is, however, still waiting for communication from the government about the fate of his only son.

Mwathethe, however, vowed every drop of blood shed by Kenyan troops in the attack would be avenged.

The militants also stage frequent suicide attacks in the capital.

Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Francisco Madeira has strongly condemned the dawn attack on its base by Al-Shabaab militants. “We are trying to search for them, rescue them and recover them”, Mwathethe said without saying if they were captured.

Most of the dead were from the Kenyan side, according to the statement given by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The military camp which the attacker attacked is located about 550 km from the Kenyan border in Mogadishu’s south west Ceel Cedo district.

Despite being pushed out of Somalia’s major cities and towns, al-Shabab continues to launch deadly guerrilla attacks across the Horn of Africa country.

However, both the Kenyan government and AMISOM officials have disputed the figure, terming it a propaganda.

The attack is described as the worst since Kenya sent its troops to battle Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia in 2011.

The militants say the attacks are retaliation for the Kenyan military presence in Somalia and “war crimes” committed by Kenyan troops.

Paul D. Williams is an associate professor of global affairs at The George Washington University in Washington and has written about the African Union Mission in Somalia.