20111030
Press TV
Chief of Kenya's Defense Forces General Julius Karangi says Kenyan troops will stay in its war-ravaged neighbor, Somalia, until Kenyans feel safe again.

"When the Kenya government and the people of this country feel that they are safe enough from the al-Shabab menace, we shall pull back," the Associated Press quoted Karangi as saying in Nairobi on Saturday.

He added, "Key success factors or indicators will be in the form of a highly degraded al-Shabab capacity."

More than ten days ago, Kenya dispatched soldiers over its border into Somalia to pursue al-Shabab fighters.

Nairobi accuses the fighters of being behind the kidnapping of several foreigners, including a French woman who later died in captivity, in its territory.

However, the militant group has denied involvement in the incidents.

Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has said his transitional government is opposed to Kenya's military incursion into Somalia.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.