Shifta War

Shifta War
Part of the Somali–Kenyan conflict
Date c. November 1963–1967 (4 years) Location North Eastern Province, Kenya Result Ceasefire
Belligerents
Kenya Colony (until Dec. 1963) Kenya (from Dec. 1963) Supported by:  United Kingdom  Ethiopian Empire[1]	Northern Frontier Districts Liberation Movement Hawiye group Darod group Supported by: Somalia  Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Jomo Kenyatta	Maalim Mohammed Stamboul (Darod group)
Strength
	Hundreds (1963) 1,200+ (1966)
Casualties and losses
4,200+ killed[2]

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The Shifta War or Gaf Daba^[3] (1963–1967) was a secessionist conflict in which ethnic Somalis in the Northern Frontier District (NFD) of Kenya attempted to join Somalia. The Kenyan government named the conflict "shifta", after the Swahili word for "bandit", as part of a propaganda effort. The Kenyan counter-insurgency General Service Units forced civilians into "protected villages" (essentially concentration camps)^[4] as well as killing livestock kept by the pastoralist Somalis.

The war ended in 1967 when Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal, Prime Minister of the Somali Republic, signed a ceasefire with Kenya at the Arusha Conference on 23 October 1967.^[5] However, the violence in Kenya deteriorated into disorganised banditry, with occasional episodes for the next several decades.

The war and violent clampdowns by the Kenyan government caused large-scale disruption to the way of life in the district, resulting in a slight shift from pastoralist and transhumant lifestyles to sedentary, urban lifestyles.