Blast kills three Kenyan soldiers on road near Somali border
The al Qaeda-linked Islamist group al Shabaab said on its website at least two Kenyan soldiers were killed and others wounded in a blast that targeted a convoy in a similar area on Tuesday, but it did not directly claim responsibility.
The patrol hit an improvised explosive device (IED) on Tuesday morning on the road between Sankuri and Kiunga, a coastal town 12km from the Somali border, the army said.
"Regrettably, three gallant soldiers succumbed to their injuries. These soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice," the Kenya Defence Forces said in a statement released late on Tuesday.
Al Shabaab controls large swathes of southern and central Somalia and frequently makes cross-border attacks on military and civilian targets, which security analysts say are aimed at pressuring Kenya into withdrawing its troops from peacekeeping missions in Somalia.
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IOL News
5 hours ago
- IOL News
RSF intensify blow to army in Kordofan by downing drone and killing three senior commanders
Bayethe Msimang The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have dealt severe blows to the Sudanese army in Kordofan, recently downing an army drone and killing key commanders, highlighting the escalating conflict in the region, writes Bayethe Msimang Image: IOL Across various parts of the Kordofan region, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have dealt a series of crushing blows to the Sudanese army and its allies, including the joint armed movements and Islamist militias. Most recently, the RSF succeeded in downing an army drone in Al-Khawi locality in West Kordofan state. Sudanese media, citing informed military sources, reported that the RSF's air defense detected, tracked, and successfully shot down the reconnaissance drone operating over the area. Social media accounts affiliated with the RSF circulated footage showing the wreckage of the downed drone, following two other devastating strikes against the army. The first strike, a drone airstrike, killed several officers from the armed movements and the army, including Brigadier General Abbas Mohamed Turoni, the spokesperson for the so-called Sudan Liberation Forces Alliance – Abdullah Yahya faction, and Brigadier General Mohab Ahmed Mahmoud, head of moral guidance for the Fifth Division in El-Obeid and supervisor of the popular resistance in North Kordofan. This is not the first time the RSF has claimed to have shot down Sudanese army drones; such incidents have become increasingly frequent amid the escalating clashes in Darfur and Kordofan. In a painful blow to the armed movements allied with army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Jibril Ibrahim, head of the Justice and Equality Movement and Minister of Finance in the government of Kamel Idris, acknowledged the death of his movement's top military commander, Taher Arja, during the battles in Umm Sumaymah, Kordofan, according to the 'Ain Al-Haqiqa' website. The RSF launched an assault on Umm Sumaymah early on Sunday, inflicting heavy losses on the army and its allied armed factions. For some time now, the RSF has been attempting to seize control of El-Obeid city and push further toward the capital, Khartoum, with the battles against the army increasingly concentrated in Kordofan over recent months. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ In an implicit admission of repeated army setbacks, the Sudan Tribune reported yesterday that Abdel Khaleq Abdel Latif, the governor of North Kordofan and a known army loyalist, issued a decision banning the transport of goods and fuel outside El-Obeid. This move comes as RSF forces tighten their siege on the city, now surrounded from three directions. This decision reflects concerns that supplies intended for the army and its joint forces allies could fall into RSF hands as they close in on El-Obeid and other towns in the state. The RSF continues to launch drone strikes on El-Obeid intermittently, alongside ongoing attacks on army and joint forces positions. Army forces in El-Obeid remain trapped under a tight siege imposed by the RSF since the outbreak of conflict on April 15, 2023. On Sunday, the RSF declared its successes in the strategically important area of Umm Sumaymah west of El-Obeid, claiming a decisive defeat inflicted on al-Burhan's forces, with losses exceeding 470 killed, alongside the capture of large quantities of weapons and military equipment, while dozens of enemy combatants fled. * Bayethe Msimang is an independent writer, commentator and analyst. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
Kenya's defiant youth committed to ousting impotent Ruto
Protesters chant anti-government slogans atop a vandalised car used as a barricade to block a road during Saba Saba Day demonstrations in Nairobi on July 7, 2025. Saba Saba Day marks the uprising on July 7, 1990 when Kenyans demanded a return to multi-party democracy after years of autocratic rule by then-president Daniel Arap Moi. Image: AFP Kim Heller President William Ruto is facing fierce scrutiny. Calls for the first citizen of Kenya to resign are mounting as rage simmers around the government's inability to fuel economic recovery and growth, corruption, and police brutality. Kenya is experiencing significant political turbulence. In June 2024, the youth of Kenya, worn down by poverty, joblessness, and ever-increasing living expenses, took to the streets in a show of wrath against the Finance Bill and the Ruto administration. The Bill proposed taxation on basic goods and would have placed an unbearably heavy economic burden on Kenya's most indigent citizens. At least sixty protestors were killed in the 2024 anti-taxation protests. This year, blood has continued to flow in the streets of Kenya. The anti-taxation protest has evolved into a mighty movement against the lacklustre economic performance of the Ruto administration, its unscrupulous and repressive state institutions, and its score of broken promises to revive youth employment and economic prospects. Since 25 June, forty-seven protestors have been killed by the police, and hundreds arrested. Muffling the cries of anguished young Kenyan protestors through state savagery is the mark of a government in the throes of illegitimacy. Public trust in Ruto's administration is plunging. Neo-liberal, anti-poor reforms and austerity measures, devised by the IMF and World Bank and poorly navigated by Ruto, have brought no relief or prospects for Kenya's young population. Kenya is the IMF's second-largest borrower, after Egypt. Its dependency on the IMF poses a perpetual threat to Kenya's sovereignty. Kenya's former Chief Justice, Willy Mutunga, has criticised Ruto's administration for placing foreign creditors ahead of local needs. Ruto's fiscal approach, bankrolled by foreign parties, is geared towards keeping bankruptcy at bay and tackling debt servicing and inflation control. However, it appears to be backfiring, as ordinary Kenyans, especially the youth, reject foreign intervention as an economic burden, worsening the economic decline and debt situation. For now, the Kenyan economy is dangerously weak. Deep-seated frustrations with the incumbent government have created an ever-present storm of discontent. It is in this political whirlwind that Ruto could be ousted by a hostile electorate in 2027. The political quick fix of co-opting Raila Odinga into the government has not tamed discontent. Nor does it offer economic cure or consolation. Despite parliamentary domination and somewhat feeble opposition, Ruto may fail to win a second Presidential term. His survival will hinge on his readiness to reconfigure the economy to serve the neediest, abandon anti-poor fiscal policies, and create much-needed jobs. If he fails to address allegations of government corruption and denounce police violence against citizens, Ruto will be a no-hoper in the upcoming game of thrones. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ In a television interview with Citizen TV Kenya this week, well-known exiled Kenyan political activist and constitutional lawyer, Dr. Miguna Miguna, spoke about how, through the ages, the youth are always the mortar of change. He commended the current generation of youth in Kenya for doing a "marvellous, historical job". President William Ruto pipes an altogether different tune. On 9 July 2025, the President of Kenya instructed police to shoot protesters who damage businesses in the leg to hinder them. His message was clear: "Kenya cannot and will not be ruled through threats, terror, or chaos. Not under my watch." In the recent protests, a pre-teen was killed by a stray bullet. Her death will forever be a sad reminder of a nation at war with itself. It is heartbreaking treachery by Ruto, who pledged to be the champion of the youth. The recent death of well-known blogger, Albert Ojwang, while he was in police custody, and the killing of an innocent street trader, Boniface Kariuki, by police during the July 2025 protests have exacerbated tensions. The centre is not holding. The people of Kenya are decisively turning against their President. Ruto's international friends are unlikely to lend a hand to save him. Left to fester, the pandemonium of protests could impair the 2027 election, further imperil job creation, and endanger international and regional trade. Ongoing protest action also poses a threat to regional stability, trade routes and economic cooperation. Kenya, once a beacon of resilience in East Africa, is fast becoming a trigger for political mobilisation and activism of and by the youth, inspiring the birth of regional movements. The grievances that fuel the protest must be addressed, but not through repressive mechanisms. The challenge for Ruto is to move Kenya from rupture to recalibration. The wise words of renowned Kenyan author, Ngugi wa Thiong'o ring true, "Our lives are a battlefield on which is fought a continuous war between the forces that are pledged to confirm our humanity and those determined to dismantle it; those who strive to build a protective wall around it, and those who wish to pull it down." The Ruto administration is unlikely to find its humanity and humility in the current battleground that is playing out in the streets of Kenya. The current administration is failing in its duty to protect its citizenry. For many decades, Dr Miguna has spoken of the need for a new constitutional order in Kenya and the creation of a democratic developmental state, founded on economic decolonisation. This would be a promised land for the economically dislodged and disempowered youth of Kenya. But such economic and political recalibration is unlikely to be part of the playbook of the Ruto regime. The very generation that Ruto promised to uplift out of poverty in his election campaign is the same generation that could well drive him out of the seat of power. That would be a touch of justice. * Kim Heller is a political analyst and author of No White Lies: Black Politics and White Power in South Africa. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
Eyewitness News
2 days ago
- Eyewitness News
Women's marathon world record holder Chepngetich suspended for doping suspicions
PARIS - Ruth Chepngetich, the Kenyan who shattered the women's marathon world record last year, has been provisionally suspended on suspicion of doping, the Athletics Integrity Unit said on Thursday. Chepngetich, who improved the record to 2hr 09min 56sec in Chicago in October, has been suspended after testing positive for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide on 14 March this year. AIU head Brett Clothier said 30-year-old Chepngetich's case was being investigated and would be heard by a disciplinary tribunal. "When there is a positive test for diuretics and masking agents, a provisional suspension is not mandatory under the World Anti-Doping Code," he explained. "Chepngetich was not provisionally suspended by the AIU at the time of notification. However, on 19 April she opted for a voluntary provisional suspension while the AIU's investigation was ongoing. "In the intervening months, the AIU continued its investigation and today issued a Notice of Charge and imposed its own provisional suspension." In April, Chepngetich withdrew from the London Marathon, saying she was "not in the right place mentally or physically to race my best". Hydrochlorothiazide is used to treat fluid retention and hypertension.
