Ethiopia, Kenya launch joint operation against Shene militant group along border areas 

Addis Ababa, February 4, 2025 (FMC) – The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) of Ethiopia and Kenya’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) announced the commencement of a coordinated operation targeting the Shene militant group along the border regions of the two countries.

NISS told the media that this joint operation follows agreements reached during high-level security consultations led by Ambassador Redwan Hussein, Director General of Ethiopia’s National Intelligence and Security Service, and Noordin Mohamed Haji, Director-General of Kenya’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), alongside senior defense and police officials from both countries.

The operation aims to implement security agreements focused on combating threats that jeopardize the national interests of both nations.

Specifically, it targets activities related to terrorism, contraband trade, and the illegal trafficking of people and arms.

The primary objective is to dismantle the Shene, a militant group which is designated as a “terror group” in May 2021 by the Ethiopian parliament, operating in border areas, thereby enhancing regional stability.

Joint security forces from Ethiopia and Kenya are actively conducting operations in designated camps of the group within their respective border territories to neutralize the group’s influence.

In a related statement, Kenya’s National Police Service highlighted that the Shene group’s cross-border movements have contributed to various crimes, including the illegal trade of arms, human trafficking, and mineral smuggling, as well as fueling ethnic conflicts.

The group’s actions have been identified as a significant threat to Kenya’s national security, prompting the launch of extensive operations to restore peace and stability, the statement added.

Thus far, these operations have inflicted substantial human and material losses on the militant group.

NISS reaffirmed that the ongoing operation will continue with intensified efforts.

Despite rejecting peace overtures in the past, the militant group still has an open path to peaceful resolution, it underlined.

The National Intelligence and Security Service has called on remaining members of the group to abandon violence and embrace the opportunity for peace.