Cost of the war in Somalia

President Uhuru Kenyatta and KDF soldier when he visited their Dhobley camp in Somalia [File| Standard]

We may never know the human or financial cost of the war in Somalia. The Kenyan government, which at the end of 2011 placed its soldiers under the African Union Mission to Somalia (Amisom), has never made public the number of its troops killed or amount of money it has spent on the war.

Key among the numbers which remain a military secret is how many soldiers died in the twin Kulbiyow (2017) and El Adde (2016) attacks. A tally from various media reports show at least 1,000 Kenyans have died since Operation Linda Nchi was launched in 2011 over the abduction of two French tourists.