Battle of El Adde

2016 Battle of El Adde
Part of the War in Somalia

Political situation in Somalia
Date15 January 2016
Location
El Adde, Gedo, Somalia
Result

Major Al-Shabaab victory[2][3][4][5]

  • Kenya Defense Forces temporarily pull out of 3 towns in Gedo
  • Deadliest attack on AMISOM mission to date.[6]
  • El Adde temporarily captured by Al Shabaab, recaptured by KDF four days later.[5]
Belligerents
Al-Shabaab

AMISOM[1]

Somalia Federal Government of Somalia
Commanders and leaders
Ahmad Umar
(Emir of Al-Shabaab)
Maalim Janow [*]
Mahad Mohammed Karatey
(Intelligence Chief)[*]
Ahmed Iman Ali[7]
AbduQadir Ali †

Maj. Jeffrey Obuoge †
(KDF Commanding Officer)[8]
Warrant Officer Isaac Otsyalo †[9]
Sgt. Juma Zahoro †
(Officer in KDF Intelligence Unit)[5]

Somalia Gen. Abas Ibrahim Gurey[10]
Units involved
Saleh Nabhan brigade[9]
Abu Zubair battalion[6][9]

Kenya Kenya Army Infantry

  • 9th Kenya Rifles[9]
  • 5th Kenya Rifles[9]
Strength
200 fighters [5] Kenya Company: ~175[5][11] to around 600 soldiers[2][12]
Casualties and losses

Unknown [**]

[13]

Kenya:

150-400 killed[**]

11 captured[5][14]

12 wounded[10]
12 civilians killed[15]
* Al Shabaab leaders subsequently killed in retaliatory air-strikes (per Kenya's military).[6][16]
** Approximate casualty figure.[17][5]

The Battle of El Adde took place on 15 January 2016. Al-Shabaab militants launched an attack on a Kenyan-run AMISOM army base in the town of El Adde, Gedo, Somalia. It remains the deadliest attack on the African Union Mission to Somalia and is the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) largest defeat since independence in 1963. As such, the Kenyan government went to extreme lengths to conceal the extent of its losses.[6][18][19][20] It has been described by the media as a "military massacre" or military disaster.[18] It was also the largest military defeat in Kenyan history.[14][4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Kenya was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Gettleman, Jeffrey (12 April 2016). "Shabab and East African Front Militants Compete for Notoriety (Published 2016)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Kenya covers up military massacre". CNN. 31 May 2016. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Fugitive Kenyan al Shabaab terrorist resurfaces with more threats".
  8. ^ Kenya: Top Soldier Killed in El Adde Attack Laid to Rest
  9. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference Adde was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "The Star".
  12. ^ Gettleman, Jeffrey (20 January 2016). "Kenya Rattled as Shabab Turns Sights on Somalia Military Targets (Published 2016)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Brave and sharp major who led KDF to its worst ambush in Somalia".
  14. ^ a b No answers from Kenya on deaths of 150 troops
  15. ^ "UN releases number of KDF soldiers killed in El-Ade raid". Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  16. ^ "Al-Shabaab commander Karatey who was behind El-Adde attack killed in KDF strike".
  17. ^ Somalia's al-Shabab killed '190 Kenyan troops'in el-Ade
  18. ^ a b "Kenya covers up military massacre". 31 May 2016.
  19. ^ "Kenya: KDF Soldiers 'Will Fight On Until There Is Peace in Somalia'". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).