Premium Essay

Kdf in Kenya

In:

Submitted By maviyakuku
Words 332
Pages 2
armyKDF Expedition against Sabaot Land Defence
The Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF) was a guerrilla militia operating in the Mount Elgon District of Kenya since 2005. It had been accused of killing more than 600 people, and of committing a variety of atrocities including murder, torture, rape, and the theft and destruction of property. Its fast rise was fuelled by conflict over scarce land resources, widespread unemployment among young men, and a fast-growing population
Stressors during the Mission
Long work hours: KDF was forced to be on high alert since the enemy would strike without following a given pattern. Soldiers complained during this combat that they barely rested and had to be awake day and night.
Excessive emotional drainage
This mission came at a time when the military was not used to such tough combat. They had to be involved deeply in the war which interrupted their smooth life. It was particularly stressful to the first time mission soldiers.
Strong rivals
The KDF were fighting against a well-organized and funded group. It is said that the militia was under payroll from some politicians in the region. They were therefore well equipped giving the soldiers a hard time while trying to guess what the militia was capable of.
Negative public image
There was much talk after the operation against the SLDF. There was extensive media coverage on the issue and the main attention shifted from the combating of the terror group to the violations that took place.
Sources
http://www.omct.org/escr/urgent-interventions/2008/06/d4885/ http://www.hrw.org/news/2008/04/02/kenya-army-and-rebel-militia-commit-war-crimes-mt-elgon http://mahteso.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=66:the-horors-of-sabaot-land-defence-force-sldf-and-the-atrocities-they-committed-against-citizens-of-mtelgon-kenya&catid=25:the-project

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Media Front in Kenya’s 2011 Military Invasion of Somalia

...Standard Library and Eric Njoka of Daily Nation’s for the cooperation they accorded me during the long hours I spent at their libraries. This work would have made no sense with the input of The Daily Nation Newspaper’s news editor Eric Shimoli and Senior reporter John Ngirach as well as the Standard’s Foreign Editor Andrew Kipkemboi and Senior reporter Cyrus Ombati. Through candid interviews these respected journalists gave me invaluable information. Finally I would like to express special thanks to all the other people, whose names are not listed here, for their help and willingness to explain their opinion, and to share their stories. ABSTRACT The study is a content analysis of The Daily Nation and The Standard newspapers in Kenya; the two leading dailies with widest range of coverage. It examines how the print media covered the Kenyan military incursion into Somalia in 2011. Content analysis was supplemented by in-depth interviews from the editors of both newspapers under study and journalists who covered the incursion. The results show that the Daily Nation had the highest number of...

Words: 15488 - Pages: 62

Premium Essay

Irregular Warfare

...Introduction Irregular warfare can be defined as a form of warfare in which one of the combatants is composed of irregular military (Morgan, 2008). Irregular military in this case refers to a substandard form of military recruitment that does not comply with national and international military guidelines. This means that the people recruited in the army are not qualified in terms of age and education. Some of them are children who are trained in hostile environments and taught to adopt and become terrorists. This is the case for Somalia. Somalia is an eastern African country that borders Kenya to the west, Ethiopia to the north and the Indian Ocean to the east. For the past few decades, the country has gained international attention due to the challenges of warfare facing the country. It has become a breeding zone for the Al-Shabaab community that is responsible for a number of attacks in neighboring and overseas countries (Le Sage, 2010). Being opposed to the leadership of the government, this group is responsible for perpetrating a variety of irregular warfare activities including terrorism and pirating. Irregular Warfare Activities As identified above, the major threats of the Al-Shabaab military group include terrorism and pirating.  Despite advancement in technology of the west, this group has been in the forefront in impacting the world with a sense of fear and horror. Whenever an attack occurs, people are anxious to know the group responsible for the attack. The Al-Shabaab...

Words: 1014 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Iw Africa

...Irregular Warfare in Somalia Introduction Irregular warfare can be defined as a violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations. Irregular military in this case refers to a substandard form of military recruitment that does not comply with national and international military guidelines. This means that the people recruited in the army are not qualified in terms of age and education. Some of them are children who are trained in hostile environments and taught to adopt and become terrorists. This is the case for Somalia. Somalia is an eastern African country that borders Kenya to the west, Ethiopia to the north and the Indian Ocean to the east. For the past few decades, the country has gained international attention due to the challenges of warfare facing the country. It has become a breeding zone for the Al-Shabaab community that is responsible for a number of attacks in neighboring and overseas countries (Le Sage, 2010). Being opposed to the leadership of the government, this group is responsible for perpetrating a variety of irregular warfare activities including terrorism and pirating. Irregular Warfare Activities As identified above, the major threats of the Al-Shabaab military group include terrorism and pirating.  Despite advancement in technology of the west, this group has been in the forefront in impacting the world with a sense of fear and horror. Whenever an attack occurs, people are anxious to know the...

Words: 1018 - Pages: 5