Kenya Garissa students 'taken hostage' by al-Shabab(147 dead)

[Luiz 4,253]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/02/kenya-university-attack/70815094/

Terror attack over, 147 dead at Kenya university

 

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32157342

 

 

Gunmen from the militant Islamist group al-Shabab have killed at least 15 people and taken students hostage at a university in north-eastern Kenya.

Reports say 65 others were wounded when gunmen stormed the campus in Garissa. Troops are engaging the gunmen.

More than 500 students were still unaccounted for, a minister said. The number of hostages is unclear.

Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, said it was holding Christians hostage and freeing Muslims.

Hostages from the two groups had been separated, and 15 of the Muslims had already been released, a spokesman for al-Shabab told the BBC.

 

Garissa College University student Collins Wetangula said when the gunmen entered his hostel he could hear them opening doors and asking if the people who had hidden inside were Muslims or Christians, Associated Press news agency reports.

"If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot. With each blast of the gun I thought I was going to die," he is quoted as saying.

Mr Wetangula said some security officers then entered through a window and took him and some other students to safety.

 

 

About five masked gunmen are said to have stormed the university.

Kenya's Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery told journalists that one of the militants had been killed as he tried to flee.

Out of 815 students, 535 had not yet been accounted for, he said.

A policeman at the scene told Reuters news agency that some students had been taken hostage.

"We can't tell how many but they are many since the college was in session," the unnamed policeman is quoted as saying.

The Kenyan Red Cross said about 50 students had been "safely freed", but an unknown number were still being held, AFP news agency reports.

Security forces were now trying to flush out the gunmen, a police statement posted on Twitter said.

It urged people to stay away from the area. The statement did not confirm that hostages had been taken.

[HausOfNena 1,712]

Sending lots of prayers to the victims. 

[Luiz 4,253]

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/e1f42fc2fd034658a3a22dff9d6d0612/police-gunmen-attack-university-eastern-kenya

 

At least 15 dead as gunmen attack university in Kenya

[Morphine Prince 109,645]

Religious wars are the dumbest **** ever. I wish these types of people didn't exist.

[Luiz 4,253]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/02/kenya-university-attack/70815094/

 

 

NAIROBI — Four armed terrorists stormed a university in northern Kenya on Thursday, killing 147 people, wounding dozens and taking hostages during a 15-hour siege until they were killed by security forces. Christians and converts to Islam appeared to have been the targets.

More than 550 students were evacuated and 79 were injured in the standoff on the Garissa University campus located about 90 miles from the Somali border, government officials said. The Somali-based Islamic terrorist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack — the al-Qaeda-linked organization's deadliest in Kenya.

Students said the gunmen separated Christians from Muslims and held hostages in a dormitory, Kenya's National Police Service said. Explosives were reportedly staged around the Christian hostages. School officials said students reported the gunmen attended morning prayers at the campus mosque before heading to the dorm.

Kenyan Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said some students were also killed during morning prayers at the mosque. Jackson Kamau, a student at the university, said the militants killed those who were likely converts to Islam. Locals can differentiate between Somali Muslims born into Islam and those who have converted because they come from different ethnic groups.

"We'll not allow terrorists to divide our country on religious lines," said Aden Duale, majority leader in Kenya's National Assembly.

Heavy gunfire erupted at the college as the Kenyan military worked to end the siege. Police Inspector General Joseph Boinett said a dusk-to-dawn curfew will be in place in Garissa and three neighboring counties starting Friday through April 16.

The White House strongly condemned the attack and said the United States was providing assistance to the Kenyan government.

"We extend our deep condolences to the families and loved ones of all those killed in this heinous attack, which reportedly included the targeting of Christian students," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.

Kenyan police were offering a $220,000 bounty for Mohammed Mohamud, also known as Dulyadin and Gamadhere, who they believe is the mastermind of the attack.

 

Students who were able to escape said gunmen stormed the university, setting off explosives and shooting people on the campus just after 5 a.m. local time.

"Most of us were asleep when the incident happened," said Nicholas Ntulu, a student at the university. "We heard heavy gunfire and explosions. Every person ran for dear life as we passed the gunmen. Several (students) were shot dead.

"There was nobody to help us at the time of the attack," he added. "The police officers took more than an hour to arrive at the scene."

President Uhuru Kenyatta urged Kenyans to stay calm. "This is a moment for everyone throughout the country to be vigilant as we continue to confront and defeat our enemies," he said.

Kenyatta also ordered the inspector-general of police to accelerate the applications of 10,000 recruits for the Kenya Police College.

"We have suffered unnecessarily due to shortage of security personnel," he said. "Kenya badly needs additional officers, and I will not keep the nation waiting."

Frightened students rescued from the university gathered at a military camp near the Garissa airstrip.

"The sounds of gunfire was all over — we couldn't tell what was the right direction to go to be safe," said Ann Musyoka, a second year student. "We had to face the gunmen — they shot several people as we escaped towards the gate."

Victims were rushed to a local hospital and those critically injured were being airlifted to the capital of Nairobi.

"I was not at the institution when the incident occurred but several students phoned me crying over the attacks," said Jacktone Kweya, the dean of students. "When I tried calling them back their phones were off. It's very disturbing."

Robert Godec, the U.S. ambassador to Kenya, said the United States "strongly condemns" the attack.

"We extend our deepest condolences to all who have been affected," he said in a statement. "The attack once again reinforces the need for all countries and communities to unite in the effort to combat violent extremism."

The assault comes in the wake of an intelligence report issued last week by security officials warning that al-Shabab was planning an attack on major institutions in retaliation for Kenyan military action in Somalia as part of an African Union initiative against the group.

Al-Shabab has carried out several attacks in Garissa and across Kenya in the past few years, including the 2013 attack at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi that left 67 people dead, and others on mosques in Mombasa, a coastal city in the east.

Nairobi-based security a--lyst Abdiwahab Sheikh said the incident highlights how the government has failed to shore up security in the country.

"The government has not learned anything from the Westgate attack," he said. "How do you allow terrorists to take students hostage for more 10 hours? I think our security forces need to learn from the past."

[Whispering 18,865]

Saw this last night when reports first started coming in. At that time, they were only reporting 4 students as dead. 

Tragic and horrible. My thoughts go out to the families of the victims. 

[lego 44,165]

Horrible.  

AshShabab are scum. Glad that majority of Somalis don't support them, but the government needs some help to fight them.

 

Kenyan Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said some students were also killed during morning prayers at the mosque. Jackson Kamau, a student at the university, said the militants killed those who were likely converts to Islam. Locals can differentiate between Somali Muslims born into Islam and those who have converted because they come from different ethnic groups.

Wtf? So they are racists as well.

 

"We'll not allow terrorists to divide our country on religious lines," said Aden Duale, majority leader in Kenya's National Assembly.

Hopefully not.

[Melech 9,900]

Oh God. What a nightmare and what a horrible thing. Rip to all the innocents  

[Blue Jeans 3,815]

The fact that 147 are dead and this thread has so few replies compared to Charlie Hebdo.. its really sad.. the medias aren't showing this, and people don't care because its in Africa so what the hell right ? they're poor anyway so it doesn't matter.. Every life is precious and we should shine a light in this horrible event, thought and prayers to the victims and their families.