Violent ethnic clashes broke out in a Somali-dominated neighborhood in the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi after a suspected grenade attack on a bus passing through the area killed at least seven people and left several others injured a day earlier, media reports citing officials said Monday.
Clashes between members of the Somali-Kenyan community and local Kenyans in Nairobi's Eastleigh neighborhood, sometimes referred to as Little Somalia, prompted security forces to fire tear-gas shells as well as live ammunition into the air in an effort to disperse the warring sides. Kenyan officials said at least two people were injured in the clashes and police action.
Separately, three Kenyan soldiers were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the border town of Garissa on Monday. Kenyan officials have blamed the attack on al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group in neighboring Somalia. The three deceased soldiers were reportedly part of an African Union force fighting al-Shabaab in Somalia.
Relations between the ethnic Somali community in Kenya and the local population have been strained ever since Kenya sent troops to Somalia in October 2011 to fight al-Shabaab militants along side their Somali counterparts as well as African Union peacekeepers deployed in the Horn of Africa nation.
Kenyan troops are currently in Somalia as part of a cross-border operation aimed at driving al-Shabaab militants away from the border separating the two nations. Since their arrival in Somalia last year, Kenyan forces have managed to capture several al-Shabaab strongholds. But the militant group has retaliated with several terror attacks inside Kenya.
Al-Shabaab is Somalia's most prominent and influential Islamist militant unit, and is branded a terrorist organization by the United States and most of the international community. The al-Qaeda aligned outfit is the military wing of the Islamist movement ousted by Ethiopia-backed Somali forces in 2006.
Until recently, al-Shabaab and other allied groups controlled large areas in southern Somalia where they enforced strict Islamic laws or Sharia. In recent months, Somali forces, backed by African Union peacekeepers and Kenyan troops, have managed to seize control of most regions, except some pockets that are still under rebel control.
Although Somalia recently got its first proper government after the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in 1991, the Horn of Africa nation still witnesses frequent bombings and militant attacks, mainly in the capital Mogadishu.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Political News
April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.