Clearing the bodies: Witnesses told how about 30 gunmen - believed to be members of Somali terror group al-Shabaab - arrived in the town in minibuses at 8pm yesterday before bursting into residents homes, shooting dead any man they thought was not Muslim.
Somali militants who murdered 48 people in a Kenyan village as they watched the World Cup went door to door asking residents if they were Muslim or spoke Somali - and shot them dead if either answer was 'no', witnesses revealed today.
The attack on the coastal village of Mpeketoni, about 30-miles southwest of the tourist centre of Lamu, came at the end of a weekend of bloodshed that has exposed the world to the shocking depravity of terrorists, apparently emboldened by each other's acts.
Witnesses told how about 30 gunmen - believed to be members of Somali terror group al-Shabaab - arrived in the town in minibuses at 8pm yesterday before bursting into residents homes, shooting dead any man they thought was not Muslim.
'They came to our house at around 8pm and asked us in Swahili whether we were Muslims,' said Anne Gathigi. 'My husband told them we were Christians and they shot him in the head and chest.'
Cowardly: At least 48 people were killed in the raid and two hotels were set on fire before the gunmen fled into surrounding undergrowth''
Kenya: Residents look at slain bodies of people killed when unidentified gunmen attacked the coastal Kenyan town of Mpeketoni - the latest in a string of Islamic militant attacks across two continents that have shocked the world''
Bodies piled high: Last night's atrocity saw at least 48 people killed when gunmen in two minibuses sped into a town on Kenya's coast, shooting soccer fans gathered to watch a World Cup match in a television hall and targeting hotels and a bank''
Another resident, John Waweru, said his two brothers were killed because the attackers did not like that the brothers did not speak Somali.
'My brothers who stay next door to me were killed as I watched. I was peeping from my window and I clearly heard them speak to my brothers in Somali and it seems since my brothers did not meet their expectations, they sprayed them with bullets and moved on,' said Waweru.
In Kenya, dozens of extremists attacked a Kenyan coastal town for hours, killing those who weren't Muslim and those who didn't know the Somali language, officials and witnesses said today. At least 48 people were killed and two hotels were set on fire.
The assault in Mpeketoni began on Sunday night as residents watched World Cup matches on TV and lasted until early on Monday morning, with little resistance put up by Kenya's security forces. Cars and buildings still smoldered at daybreak.
Authorities blamed al-Shabaab, Somalia's al-Qaida-linked terror group, who have vowed to carry out terror attacks to avenge the Kenyan military presence in Somali. Along with its Somali fighters, the group also has many Kenyan adherents. By midday Monday the group had not claimed responsibility.
Like the gunmen who attacked Nairobi's Westgate Mall last year, the Mpeketoni attackers gave life-or-death religious assessment, a witness said, killing those who were not Muslim.
Carnage: Police said Somalia's Al Shabaab Islamist group was most likely to blame for Sunday night's assault on the town of Mpeketoni''
Horror: Sunday's assault is the worst since last September when Al Shabaab gunmen attacked Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall, leaving 67 people dead''
About 30 gunmen raced into Mpeketoni in two minibuses, the kind used as public taxis in Kenya, and hit two hotels, a bank and a police station with guns and at least one explosive device''
Brutal: Kenyan residents at the scene of one of the bodies of those killed in Mpeketoni. Police said the attackers targeted only men in the village, leaving women and children alone'
At the Breeze View Hotel, the gunmen pulled the men aside and ordered the women to watch as they killed them, saying it was what Kenyan troops are doing to Somali men inside Somalia, a police commander said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to share such details of the attack.
Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said the attackers fled into the nearby wilds, known as the Boni Forest after a 'fierce exchange of fire' with security forces.
He said 20 vehicles had been set on fire.
At a news conference, Ole Lenku was forced to defend the government's security record after a string of attacks. He also warned opposition politicians against inciting violence, saying it was possible the attack was linked to politics. The claim was immediately dismissed by security experts who are now a staple of Kenyan news shows.
Mpeketoni is about 20 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of the tourist center of Lamu. Any tourism in Mpeketoni is mostly local, with few foreigners visiting the area. The town is 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Somali border and 360 miles (600 kilometers) from the capital, Nairobi.
Death toll rising: Authorities have blamed al-Shabab, Somalia's al-Qaida-linked terror group, for last night's atrocity in Kenya''
A burnt out van in the town of Mpeketoni following an attack by Somali militants
Kenya has experienced a wave of gunfire and explosive attacks in recent months. The U.S., U.K., France, Australia, and Canada have all recently upgraded their terror threat warnings for the country. U.S. Marines behind sandbag bunkers are now stationed on the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.
The Interior Ministry said that at about 8 p.m. on Sunday, two minivans entered the town. Militants disembarked and began shooting. Kenya's National Disaster Operations Center said military surveillance planes were launched shortly afterward.
Lamu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the country's oldest continually inhabited town. The region saw a spate of kidnappings of foreign tourists in 2011 that Kenya said was part of its motivation for attacking al-Shabaab in Somalia. Since those attacks and subsequent terror warnings, tourism has dropped off sharply around Lamu.
At least 67 people were killed in September when four al-Shabaab gunmen attacked an upscale mall in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Kenya sent its troops to Somalia in October 2011.
The attack happened in Mpeketoni, which is about 30-miles southwest of the tourist centre of Lamu''
Authorities have blamed al-Shabab, Somalia's al-Qaida-linked terror group, for the attack last night''
Local people from Mpeketoni in Kenya photographed after the attack by Somali militants last night''
Dangerous: Mpeketoni is about 60 miles from the Somali border and few foreigners visit the region'
No comments:
Post a Comment