Nearly 600 held hostage, at least 21 dead in Kenya attack – USA TODAY
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The terror group Al-Shabaab is claiming responsibility for an early morning attack on Garissa University College in Kenya. At least 15 are feared dead. This same group carried out the 2013 attack at the Westgate mall in Nairobi.
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NAIROBI — Armed gunmen stormed a university in northern Kenya on Thursday, taking nearly 600 students and staff members hostage. At least 21 were killed and another 65 seriously wounded, officials said.
Heavy gunfire was reported at the Garissa University campus as the Kenyan military tried to end the siege. The Somali-based al-Shabab terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Kenya Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said 533 students are being held hostage and 282 have been rescued. The total number of students at the school is 815. Sixty staff members, including the principal, are also being held.
Police Inspector-General Joseph Boinett said there was a shootout between the attackers and police officers. “We have the reports that the attackers shot aimlessly while inside the university compound,” he said.
Police said they arrested at least one terrorist who was escaping the scene after the attack.
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Shebab gunmen on Thursday seized Christian hostages at a Kenya university near the border with Somalia, in a pre-dawn attack that killed at least 15 people and wounded scores more. Duration: 00:52
Video provided by AFP
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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. I only saw three gunmen heading to the hostels.
“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 were 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.”
Schools officials said students reported the gunmen attended morning prayers at the campus mosque before heading to the dorm. Students also said that the gunmen were separating Christians from Muslims. Neither report could be independently verified.
“I was not at the institution when the incident occurred but several students phoned me crying over the attacks,” said Jacktone Kweya, the students’ dean. “When I tried calling them back their phones were off. It’s very disturbing.”
Victims were rushed to the Garissa Level Five Hospital. An aircraft with several doctors aboard has left for the town to airlift the critically wounded to the capital of Nairobi.
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Gunmen attacked Garissa University College in eastern Kenya early April 2, shooting indiscriminately in campus hostels, killing at least two people and wounding four others, police said.
AP
Robert F. 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. “We also offer our profound appreciation and gratitude to the members of the Kenyan security services who are risking their lives to end this cowardly attack.”
“The attack once again reinforces the need for all countries and communities to unite in the effort to combat violent extremism,” he added.
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 analyst 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.”
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