Kenyatta cited funding cuts by European donors as the reason behind the decision, Daily Nation reported.

The president said that participating countries could not fill the financial gaps left.

This came as a surprise to many in the east African country, as Kenyatta’s government had persistently dismissed calls by the opposition leaders to recall the troops and protect its citizens from retaliatory attacks by al-Shabaab.

The Kenya Defence Forces moved into Somalia in 2011 to flush out al-Shabaab insurgents, who had conducted several kidnappings in the country.

Citizens living along the Lamu and Wajir borders had borne the brunt of the attacks, although mass murders had been conducted in other parts of the country, with the worst being the Westgate siege in 2013.

In January this year, al-Shabaab raided a KDF camp at El Adde in Somalia and killed over 200 soldiers.

News24