'Kenya not to pull out troops from Somalia'

Kenyan government said Wednesday that it will not withdraw its troops from neighbouring Somalia, despite rising terror attacks from the Horn of Africa nation.

Deputy President William Ruto said increased terror attacks will not make Kenya run away, but will make it continue to play its role as a responsible neighbour to help stabilise the region.

"Kenya is not going to walk away from its duty as a responsible neighbour, we are going to stay engaged under the Amison arrangement until stability is realised in Somalia," Xinhua quoted Ruto as saying during a joint conference with visiting Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed in Nairobi.

The lates reaction came after a section of Kenyans, including the opposition, urged the government to withdraw troops from Somalia to prevent future terrorist attacks in the country.

he insurgents have surged their grenade and bomb attacks on Kenyan soil to protest the military incursion into southern Somalia in 2011.

Ruto, however, said the Kenyan military incursion in Somalia has weakened the Al-Shabaab militants' capacity to carry out massive terror attacks in the region.