In the worst bloodshed in Kenya in nearly two decades, four gunmen
went on a killing rampage on Thursday, April 2, hunting down and
executing students in a campus in Garissa, a northeastern town 200
kilometres from the Somali border.
The raid has put Kenya on heightened alert and
alarmed Christian congregations, who were horrified by survivor
testimonies recalling how the Islamist militants had sought out
Christians to take hostage and kill, while sparing some Muslims.
In the message directed at the Kenyan public, the al-Qaeda-aligned group said the raid was retribution for Kenya's military presence in Somalia and mistreatment of Muslims within Kenya.
"No
amount of precaution or safety measures will be able to guarantee your
safety, thwart another attack or prevent another bloodbath from
occurring in your cities," the group said in an emailed statement obtained by Reuters in the Somali capital.
It said it would run cities "red with blood", adding: "This will be a long, gruesome war of which you, the Kenyan public, are its first casualties."
The death toll in the Garissa onslaught has risen to 148, Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said on Friday, April 3, adding that police were interviewing five suspects after making three additional arrests that day.
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