Operation Linda Nchi (Swahili: Linda Nchi, lit. 'Protect the Country') was the Kenya Defence Forces' invasion of southern Somalia beginning in 2011. The Kenyan government declared the operation completed in March 2012, but its forces then joined AMISOM in Somalia.
The Kenyan government aimed to create a buffer zone between Al-Shabaab and instability in southern Somalia, and the Kenyan homeland. However, at a deeper level, the Kenyans desired "to be seen as a reliable partner in the U.S.-led 'global war on terrorism', there were institutional interests within the KDF, and key political elites within the Kenyan government, notably Minister for Internal Security George Saitoti, the Defence Minister Yusuf Haji and several senior security chiefs, advocated for intervention to advance their own economic and political interests."
Background
During the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia aimed at toppling the Islamic Courts Union administration, Kenyan troops assisted the Ethiopians and allied Somali forces in capturing the retreating Somali Islamists. Al-Shabaab viewed the Kenyan government with hostility ever since. During the early 2007 fighting between the Somali Islamists and the Ethiopians, Kenyan Defense Force (KDF) were reported to have crossed the border by local residents in southern Somalia.
Lead up and planning
After Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia in early 2009, Al-Shabaab came to control much of the south. In March 2009 they accused Kenyan troops of crossing into Somalia and stated on their website, "Kenya has been making false allegations of facing danger from the border, and that is a great danger to the region's security and stability,"
The Kenyan government sought to carve out a buffer zone and puppet state in southern Somalia, the semi-autonomous Jubaland. According to a report by The Guardian:
Several sources agree...the Kenyan intervention plan was discussed and decided in 2010, then finalised with input from western partners, including the US and to a lesser extent France. Nairobi seems to have seized on kidnappings of foreign nationals by Somali groups on Kenyan territory as an excuse to launch an operation ready and waiting.
Invasion
In Kenya's incursion into southern Somalia started after a series of terrorist attacks in the country including the 13 October 2011 kidnapping of two aid workers who were working in the Dadaab refugee camp. The abductions were allegedly carried out by Al Shabaab militants. The Kenyan government claimed its troop deployment had received approval from the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG). Kenya's Foreign Affairs Minister, Moses Wetangula, stated that the deployment of Kenyan troops was at the request of the TFG. The Kenyan military said that there was no set exit date for the operation, but the indicator of the mission's success would be a crippling of Al-Shabaab's capacity.
On 16 October 2011, Reuters reported that Somali and Kenyan military officials had met over the weekend in the town of Dhobley, in Somalia, on the Kenya border. According to an unidentified security source, "the meeting was to prepare a joint operation between the two forces ... to launch an offensive against Al-Shabaab rebels who are scattered in different parts of southern Somalia".
The same day, an unnamed Somali military commander said that Kenyan troops had crossed the border and, in a joint operation with Somali forces, pushed Al Shabaab out of two bases near the Kenya border. Abdi Yusuf, a senior Somali military commander, confirmed that two warplanes had attacked Al Shabaab bases, but did not confirm their origin. He noted: "I can't identify the military aircraft, but our neighbour Kenya is fully supporting us militarily and our mission is to drive Al-Shabaab out of the region". Somalia's ambassador to Kenya, Mohamed Ali Nur, responded "We cannot condone any country crossing our border." TFG spokesman Abdirahman Omar Yarisow later contradicted Nur, asserting that "the governments of Somalia and Kenya are now cooperating in the fight against Al-Shabaab."
On 27 October Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua said Linda Nchi was planned months in advance and had been "going on for quite some time", as well as denied any participation by western forces. The operation reportedly had a high approval rating from the Kenyan population.
Discussions with Somali Transitional Federal Government
On 18 October, Somalia's President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and other TFG officials hosted a Kenyan delegation in Mogadishu to discuss security co-operation against Al-Shabaab. Somalia's Defence Minister Hussein Arab Isse and Kenya's Defence Minister Mohamed Yusuf Haji then signed an agreement to collaborate against Al-Shabaab. Both countries pledged to "co-operate in undertaking security and military operations", including "co-ordinated pre-emptive action". The agreement reportedly restricted Kenyan activities to the southern Lower Juba region.
Despite media reports claiming otherwise, Kenyan Defence Minister Yusuf Haji denied the involvement of the Kenyan military in the capture by TFG forces of some Al-Shabaab bases in Lower Juba. He added that "Kenya trained more TFG troops in the past and they are battling now against al-Shabaab in southern Somalia regions and we are giving them both logistical and financial support." Somalia's Defence Minister Isse welcomed Kenya's participation, stating that Somalia "need[ed] the support of Kenya so that our forces will be able to end al-Shabaab or any other threats against both Kenya and Somalia".
Opposition to the pact
On 24 October, President Ahmed stated again that although he welcomed Kenyan logistical support, he was against the Kenyan military presence. These statements before the press appeared to contradict the signed cooperative agreement between the Somali and Kenyan Defence ministers on 18 October. Ahmed claimed his administration and people in Somalia opposed the presence of Kenyan troops since the Somali federal government "had no agreement with Kenya beyond helping us with logistics". According to media, Ahmed's remarks may have stemmed from fears that the Kenyan government supported the establishment of an autonomous Jubaland in the south of Somalia. Ahmed had reportedly previously protested the deployment of 2500 Somalis trained in Kenya to southern Somalia, arguing that the forces be sent to Mogadishu to support the TFG there.
Prime Minister of Somalia Abdiweli Mohamed Ali reportedly disowned any pact that the Somali authorities had with the Kenyan government to cross the border into Somalia, stating that "We do not have agreement with Kenya. We understand that we need to defend against the militants but there is no proof saying that we agreed with Kenya". He dismissed media reports suggesting he disagreed with the President. The two issued a joint statement on 27 October denying any agreement between the TFG and the Kenyan government to allow the Kenyan incursion into Somalia.
In allusion to a cooperative agreement with the Kenyan government reached before the 18 October Mogadishu pact, Somali Defence Minister Isse also indicated that "the Somali Government and the Kenyan ministers only agreed to tackle the fighting against Al-Shabaab jointly by Kenya supporting the Somali forces."
The opposition to Kenya's action was criticised by some other TFG officials, militia allied to the TFG, and many ordinary Somalis. Many felt that Sharif did not fully understand the negative impact of Al-Shabaab's actions on the general public. Protests reportedly took place in the towns of Dhobley, Tabto and Qoqani, areas where Kenyan troops had passed through. His position reportedly conflicted with that of some Somali military and TFG officials, the latter of whom considered the deployment of Kenyan troops to be an extension of Kenya's support in ousting the Al-Shabaab rebels.
Two weeks after the operation began, on 31 October, a Somali delegation led by Prime Minister Ali met in Nairobi with Kenyan Premier Raila Odinga and other government officials to iron out differences and to outline a joint strategy on Operation Linda Nchi. After lengthy talks, the delegations issued a joint communique pledging co-ordinated military, political and diplomatic support for the mission, requesting that African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeepers police areas captured from Al-Shabaab, and that the International Criminal Court (ICC) begin formal investigations against the group's commanders. The communique declared that "the Somalia government supports the activities of the Kenyan forces, which are being fully co-ordinated with the TFG of Somalia". Kenyan Premier Odinga took the opportunity to dispel media reports alleging that the Kenyan government supported plans to form an autonomous Jubaland region in southern Somalia. He said that the Somali and Kenyan governments would support the establishment of local administrations in liberated areas according to domestic consensus. In addition, Somali Prime Minister Ali urged the international community to support the joint operation, and stated that the mission "would be led by Somali forces with support of Kenyan forces". The two delegations also formed a joint "high-level co-ordinating committee" to maintain regular contacts between their respective governments.
On 17 November, Somalia's President Sharif Ahmed met in Nairobi with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (who had Ugandan troops in Somalia as part of AMISOM). On 18 November, Voice of America reported that an alliance of countries in East Africa were planning a broader joint military campaign to quash Al-Shabaab. An Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) meeting slated for 25 November would reportedly urge all member nations, including Ethiopia, to contribute troops to the operation. Ethiopian officials indicated that no decision had officially been reached with regard to joining the troop contributing nations. However, Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti stated that "You can simply guess Ethiopia is going to be part and parcel of this process[...] The decision is not made as to sending the army, but per the IGAD council's resolutions of the past months, all IGAD member countries, the African Union and others also will be summoned, will be called, will be expected to somehow contribute something to strengthening the operations in Somalia."
End
In March 2012, Colonel Cyrus Oguna [Kenya] said that Operation Linda Nchi was about to end, as Kenyan troops were set to re-hat under the African Union Mission in Somalia. On 31 May 2012, the BBC reported that Kenyan soldiers, acting as AMISOM's southern contingent, assisted Somali government forces in capturing Afmadow from Al-Shabaab, a southern town considered important in the military campaign owing to its network of roads that grant access to many different parts of the country. Kenyan forces were officially integrated into AMISOM in early June.
While Kenyan government officials declared a formal end to the operation in 2012, Kenyan military activities continued in Somalia within the framework of other, continuing operations. Kenyan forces remain in Somalia and are not expected to leave before 2020.
Belligerents
Kenya
According to the Associated Press, Kenya had not "actively engaged" in the conflict in southern Somalia prior to this operation. According to a correspondent with The Independent, Kenya had previously been supporting at least two militias in southern Somalia in a proxy war against Al-Shabaab, but moved instead to a direct presence of Kenyan troops once that strategy had failed. Kenya's military is regarded as inexperienced and reporters voiced doubts that it has the capacity to conduct the required logistical operations. A joint communique issued on 31 October by the Kenyan and Somali governments stated that the Kenyan forces were fully co-operating with Somali forces in a TFG led operation.
An African Union initiative called for the Kenyan soldiers to eventually be brought under AMISOM's command. On 12 November, the Kenyan government released a statement announcing that it had approved the re-hatting of its Kenya Defence Forces under AMISOM. Analysts expect the additional AU troop reinforcements to help the Somali authorities gradually expand their territorial control.