Eleven soldiers from the Somali National Army (SNA) surrendered to Kenyan authorities at the Hulugho border on Sunday evening. According to officials and eyewitness reports, the group was armed with rifles and carried more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
Local residents first spotted the soldiers moving towards Garabey, Kenya, a location near the main border. This prompted a swift response from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and other multi-agency teams, who arrived at the scene to find the defectors already seated and awaiting instructions.
Authorities confirmed that among the defectors, some were Kenyan nationals. The group was heavily armed, with one soldier carrying an AK-47 rifle with 30 bullets, another possessing a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launcher along with three warheads, and a third soldier armed with a PKM machine gun and 267 bullets. Several others carried AK-47 rifles with varying amounts of ammunition, ranging from 30 to 120 bullets each. One of the defectors, identified as a Kenyan, was reportedly unarmed.
The surrendering soldiers cited harassment and discrimination as their reasons for defecting. However, there has been no official statement from either the KDF headquarters in Nairobi or the SNA leadership in Mogadishu regarding the latest development.
Security sources indicate that the Somali nationals among the defectors will be repatriated to Mogadishu, while the Kenyan citizens will undergo debriefing for further action. This is not the first instance of SNA troops crossing into Kenya due to internal conflicts. In December 2023, around 300 Somali soldiers surrendered at the border after intense clashes with Jubaland forces in the Raaskambooni area.
The region has been experiencing heightened tensions, with repeated skirmishes between SNA troops and Jubaland forces. The ongoing conflict has raised security concerns along the Kenya-Somalia border, prompting vigilance from Kenyan authorities.
As the situation unfolds, diplomatic engagements between Kenya and Somalia may become necessary to address the underlying causes of these defections and ensure regional stability. Observers will be closely monitoring how both governments handle the latest surrender and what it signifies for the broader security landscape in the Horn of Africa.
