Kenyan troops to withdraw from Somalia in 2017, says minister

Kenyan will withdraw its troops from Somalia in 2017, reveals Somalia’s ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Mr Abdisalam Omar Hadliye, who is currently on a visit to neighbouring Kenya, said that the troops’ withdrawal is part of an agreement reached by the African Union.
‘’ Our forces will be ready to take over from them which are currently rebuilding,’’ he said in an interview with the Kenyan-based television Citizen.
The Kenyan military crossed into Somalia in 2011 to battle Al-Shabaab, which it blamed for kidnapping tourists in the coastal region. In retaliation, the terrorist group has launched a spate of attacks in the East African nation.
In 2012, the troops formally joined the African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM) following the capturing of the strategic port town of Kismayo from the al-Shabaab militants.
Last week, opposition parties in Kenya called for the government to make an immediate withdrawal from Somalia after a series of deadly attacks launched by the militant group in the country.
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