SUMMARY

The conflict between the Government of Kenya and Al-Shabaab has a background in Kenya’s involvement as a secondary warring party in the governmental conflict in Somalia. In response to increased insecurity along the Somali border, including Al-Shabaab kidnappings of tourists in the Lamu area, Kenya launched the operation Linda Nchi in October 2011. As the operation ended the following year, Kenyan forces were officially integrated into the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM). In response, Al-Shabaab gradually increased its activities inside Kenya.

In 2025, the conflict between the Government of Kenya and Al-Shabaab remained active but at a notably lower intensity, with a decline in both the number and scale of violent incidents. Kenyan security forces maintained pressure in northeastern regions through intelligence-led operations, increased patrols, and coordination between military and police units, which likely contributed to constraining infiltration and movement across key border areas. As a result, violence in counties such as Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera was largely limited to sporadic, small-scale incidents, including IED attacks, ambushes, and targeted killings, rather than the more coordinated large-scale assaults seen in previous years.