El Adde attack casualty details yet to be disclosed 5 months on

KDF soldiers pay their last respect to Maj Geoffrey Obwoge who died in the El Adde terror attack in Somalia on January 15, 2016. Kenyans will have to wait longer to know the number of soldiers killed by Al-Shabaab militants in the dawn attack in Somalia. PHOTO | BENSON MOMANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Military spokesman David Obonyo said he was not in a position to divulge casualty figures.
  • Days after the attack, Chief of Defence Forces Gen Samson Mwathethe promised to make public the number of soldiers killed.
  • Gen Mwathethe said some bodies were badly mutilated and could only be identified through DNA, a process he said would take long.
  • The militants said they killed more than 100 soldiers, a figure disputed by Kenya Defence Forces.

Kenyans will have to wait longer to know the number of soldiers killed by Al-Shabaab militants in the January 15 El Adde dawn attack in Somalia.

Today (May 15, 2016) marks exactly five months since the attack that inflicted the worst blow on Kenyan troops since Operation Linda Nchi began on October 16, 2011.

Contacted, military spokesman Col David Obonyo said he was not in a position to divulge casualty figures.

“I don’t have the authority to do so. That can only be done by my bosses,” Col Obonyo said.

Days after the attack, Chief of Defence Forces Gen Samson Mwathethe promised to make public the number of soldiers killed.

The military set up a board of inquiry to look into what led to the attack, and why the casualty figure was high but the report has not been made public.

Sources within the military say the report is ready.

The Nation has compiled a list of 40 funerals held since the Al-Shabaab raid.

BODIES BADLY MUTILATED

During a press conference in January, Gen Mwathethe said some bodies were badly mutilated and could only be identified through DNA, a process he said would take long.

This meant more agony for missing soldiers’ families.

The militants said they killed more than 100 soldiers, a figure disputed by Kenya Defence Forces.

Some survivors have since gone back to work.

“I have been on duty for more than a month now,” said a soldier who requested anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the press on military matters.

Though he survived the bloody attack with minor injuries, he said he had been assigned a new post with lighter duties.

“I don’t know if I will be picked to go and fight in Somalia again soon but if the call comes, I will answer it. It will be for my country and for my fallen comrades,” he said.

The Kenya military, now operating under the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), has stepped up ground and air attacks against the militants.

The United States has also joined in the fight and uses drones to hit Al-Shabaab camps and members.

Ugandan, Ethiopian and Burundian troops have also suffered mass casualties in other Al-Shabaab attacks in and around Mogadishu.