HELP ARRIVES FOR INJURED STUDENTS
Paramedics help a Garissa University College student injured during a massacre Thursday by al- Qaida- linked al- Shabab gunmen in Garissa, Kenya. At least 147 people were gunned down in the group’s deadliest attack in the East African country.
Al- Shabab gunmen rampaged through a university in northeastern Kenya at dawn Thursday, killing 147 people in the group’s deadliest attack in the East African country. Four of the terrorists were slain by security forces to end the siege just after dusk.
The masked attackers armed with AK- 47s singled out non-Muslim students at Garissa University College and then gunned them down without mercy, survivors said. The men held dozens of hostages in a dormitory for several hours as they battled troops and police before the operation was ended after about 13 hours, witnesses said.
Al- Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage said fighters from the Somalia- based extremist group were responsible for the bloodshed. The al- Qaida- linked group has been blamed for a series of attacks in Kenya, including the 2013 Westgate Mall siege in Nairobi that left 67 people dead.
Most of the 147 dead were students, but two security guards, a policeman and a soldier were also killed in the university attack, said Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery.
At least 79 people were wounded at the school, which is 145 kilometres from the Somali border. One suspected terrorist was arrested as he tried to flee, Nkaissery told a news conference in Nairobi.
Police identified a possible mastermind of the attack as Mohammed Mohamud, who is alleged to lead al- Shabab’s cross- border raids into Kenya, and they posted a $ 220,000 bounty for him. Also known by the names Dulyadin and Gamadhere, he was a teacher at an Islamic religious school, or madrassa, and claimed responsibility for a bus attack in Makka, Kenya, in November that killed 28 people.
One of the survivors of Thursday’s attack, Collins Wetangula, told The Associated Press he was preparing to take a shower when he heard gunshots coming from Tana dorm, which hosts both men and women 150 metres away. The campus has six dorms and at least 887 students, he said.
When he heard the gunshots, he locked himself and three roommates in their room, said Wetangula, who is vice- chairman of the university’s student union.
“All I could hear were footsteps and gunshots. Nobody was screaming because they thought this would lead the gunmen to know where they are,” he said.
He added: “The gunmen were saying, ‘ Sisi ni al- Shabab,’” — Swahili for “We are al- Shabab.”
He heard the attackers arrive at his dormitory, open the doors and ask if the people inside were Muslims or Christians.
“If you were a Christian, you were shot on the spot,” he said. “With each blast of the gun, I thought I was going to die.”
Kenyan President Uhurua Kenyatta has been under pressure to deal with insecurity caused by a string of attacks by al- Shabab. In a speech Thursday to the country, he said he had directed the police chief to fast track the training of 10,000 police recruits.
Al- Shabab has vowed to retaliate against Kenya for dispatching troops to Somalia in 2011 to fight the terrorists following cross- border attacks.
Last week, the group claimed responsibility for a siege at a Mogadishu hotel that left 24 people dead, including six attackers.
If you were a Christian, you were shot on the spot. With each blast of the gun, I thought I was going to die.
COLLINS WETANGULA