Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) have received a major boost in their fight against Al-Shabaab.
The Kenyan military has received 12 Bastion Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) donated by the United States to boost surveillance at the porous Kenya-Somalia border.
US Defence Attaché and Senior Defence Official Colonel Kevin Balisky says the vehicles can withstand Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) used by extremists to blow up military vehicles.
“These vehicles represent the unwavering US commitment to Kenya and our shared national security interests,” Colonel Balisky says.
“As the KDF continues to conduct daily operations against violent extremism, these vehicles will enhance the mobility and force protection of their troops in harm’s way.”
In the last few months, several Kenyan army and police officers have lost their lives to IED attacks by Al-Shabaab militants.
In June, five police officers lost their lives after a vehicle ferrying them run over an IED in Liboi area near the Kenya-Somalia border.
In August, five Kenya Defence Forces soldiers were killed in a similar attack on the Kiunga-Sankuri Road in Lamu County. Ten other military personnel sustained serious injuries.
Another IED attack near the border in May claimed the lives of eight soldiers while two others were left with serious injuries. The officers were aboard a vehicle which was blown up by an IED.
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