Ogorwen and Orgene ambushes
Part of Spillover of the Somali civil war
DateJuly 5 and 7, 2023
Location
Ogorwen, El Wak, and Orgene, Mandera County, Kenya
Result Kenyan victory
Belligerents
Kenya al-Shabaab
Units involved
Special Operations Group
Kenya Police		 Unknown
Casualties and losses
11 killed
16 injured		 43 killed

Between July 5 and 7, 2023, al-Shabaab militants ambushed Kenyan soldiers near the villages of Ogorwen and Orgene, Mandera County, Kenya, killing a total of eleven Kenyan soldiers and over 40 jihadists.

Background

Al-Shabaab has maintained a presence in northern Kenya's Wajir and Mandera counties bordering Somalia since the start of the Somali Civil War in 2009.[1] In June 2023, a month prior to the ambush in Orgene, attacks by al-Shabaab killed 25 people in Wajir county, a significant uptick in attacks since the start of 2023.[2]

Ambushes

The first ambushes took place at Ogorwen and El Wak in Mandera County on July 5. Al-Shabaab militants ambushed an army camp hosting Special Operations Group soldiers, resulting in a battle that killed 20 jihadists.[3] The battle lasted for several hours, and Kenyan officials said that all 20 jihadists involved in the battle were killed, and that eight soldiers were injured.[4][5] Five policemen were killed in the ambush at El Wak.[6]

The next ambush occurred at Orgene, also in Mandera County, on July 7. In this battle, 23 jihadists were killed, alongside six Kenyan soldiers killed and eight injured.[7][3]

References

  1. ^ "Kenya". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  2. ^ "Kenya Situation Update: July 2023 | Al-Shabaab Attacks Surge Ahead of Somalia-Kenya Border Reopening | ACLED". acleddata.com. 2024-06-28. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  3. ^ a b Christine, Joy; Nyarangi, Maureen (December 2023). "Trends of Violent Extremist Attacks and Arrests in Kenya, January – December 2023" (PDF). Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  4. ^ "Kenyan police kill 20 al-Shabaab terrorists in gun battle near Somali border". Anadolu (in Turkish). Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  5. ^ GROUP, NTV KENYA-NATION MEDIA. "NTV Kenya: 20 suspected Al shabaab militants killed in Mandera ambush". NTV Kenya. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  6. ^ "Special Report | Kenya-Somalia Border: Rising al-Shabaab Threat in the Wake of ATMIS Drawdown | ACLED". acleddata.com. 2026-04-23. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  7. ^ Hussein, Ahmed (2023-07-07). "Kenya Special Forces Kill 23 al-Shabab Militants". Voice of America. Retrieved 2026-04-27.