There were 240 Kenya Defence Force (KDF) in El Adde camp at the time of the attack by al Shabaab on Sunday, according to sources. The base was led by one Major and four Captains and shared one compound with the Somalia National Army.About 63 KDF soldiers are feared dead and an unknown number are missing, some kidnapped and held hostage by the attackers.
Military spokesman David Obonyo disputed that there were 240 KDF officers at the camp, but would not give the exact number. He maintained that it was a company size team of soldiers.
A top general of the Somali National Army yesterday said Kenyan soldiers were warned of the attack on their base. General Abbas Ibrahim Gurey, commander of SNA in Gedo region said KDF commanders had actionable intelligence on the impending attack on the base.
“It was information we knew, the information was received, and they (KDF) were ready for it,” Gurey told Voice of America Somali Service.
He said the military were tipped by the Somali army and locals that heavily armed Al-shabaab group were spotted nearby days before.
The Somali army camp is said to be 600 meters away from the base where the Kenya soldiers were attacked.
Military officials including Chief of General staff Samson Mwathethe said the two camps were hit simultaneously during the pre-dawn attack on Friday morning.
Strangely however, there are no reports of any casualty suffered by the Somali Army. Sources in Garbaharey, the capital of Gedo region, say the SNA camp was actually empty of soldiers when the suicide bombers rammed the gates of the KDF camp. They left hours before the attacks, sources said.