Garissa University College attack leaves 148 dead
The Kenyan city of Garissa is in mourning after a shooting on Thursday, April 2 that left 148 students dead. This is the largest attack on Kenyan soil since the bombing of a U.S. embassy in Nairobi in 1998. The events at Garissa occurred early Thursday morning, during the university’s Morning Prayer services.
This is the largest attack on Kenyan soil since the bombing of a U.S. embassy in Nairobi in 1998.
According to eyewitness reports and officials, who have given their statements to a variety of news and government services, the gunmen moved through the university, segregating Christian and Muslim students. The gunmen then proceeded to open fire on the Christian students.
“We were sleeping when we heard a loud explosion that was followed by gunshots and everyone was running for safety,” said Japhet Mwala, a Garissa student, to Agence France-Presse. “There are those who were not able to leave the hostels where the gunmen headed and started firing. I’m just lucky to be alive because I jumped through the fence with other students.”
148 students were left dead in the April 2 shooting at Garissa College – the largest and most deadly attack on Kenyan soil since the U.S. embassy bombing of 1998.
Once Kenyan military and police began to move into the Garissa campus, four of the possible 10 gunmen were killed. Five people have thus far been arrested in relation to the attacks – one of whom is a Tanzanian national found hiding under a bed in the school.
Kenyan officials believe that the shooting at Garissa College was the work of the Al-Shabaab (meaning “The Youth” in Arabic), a Somali terrorist group that pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in 2012. Al-Shabaab have been responsible for a number of other attacks on Kenyan soil, including a shooting at Westgate Shopping Mall in 2013 that left 67 dead and numerous others injured.
According to The New York Times, Al-Shabaab released a statement early on Thursday explaining that the separation of Muslims and Christians is an “operation against the infidels.”
Shortly after the shooting, the official Twitter handle for Kenya’s Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government released an image of a man identified as Mohamed Mohamud. No other information was released, although it is speculated that Mohamud is somehow related to the Garissa shootings.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta responded to the attacks by commissioning almost 10,000 police recruits to active duty.
“I take full responsibility for this directive,” said President Kenyatta in a statement. “We have suffered unnecessarily due to a shortage of security personnel. Kenya badly needs additional officers, and I will not keep the nation waiting.”
As of Sunday, April 5, one of the gunmen has been identified as the son of a Kenyan government official. The gunman, Abdirahim Abdullahi, is the son of a chief in Mandera County. Mandera is almost 600 kilometres away from Garissa College.
According to a source for Reuters, Abdullahi had been a Nairobi law student.
“He was a brilliant law student,” said the unnamed source. “But then he got these crazy ideas.”
Abdullahi, who had been missing for almost a year before the university attacks, was feared to be in Somalia by his father. By the time that the Garissa shootings were carried out, Abdullahi’s father had already begun working with police to track his whereabouts.
As a result of Abdullahi’s disappearance and involvement in the Garissa shootings, Kenyan authorities have begun to urge citizens to report the disappearance of their loved ones as soon as possible.
Furthermore, Aden Duale, a member of Kenyan parliament, emphasized that the youth of Kenya must be prevented from becoming victims of extremism.
“Some of our youth have fallen victim to this evil ideology of Al-Shabaab,” said Duale. “We will embark on an immediate, massive, and sustained campaign to win back the hearts and the mind of our youth within our constituencies and the countries as whole. We recognize that some of our religious institutions have had some role in radicalization and propagation of this ideology.”
The Kenyan government has responded to the attacks by launching airstrikes against Al-Shabaab camps on Sunday, April 5, and Monday, April 6. Kenyan warplanes targeted the Gedo region of Somalia, according to Col. David Obonyo of the Kenyan military, who spoke to the CBC.
However, Obonyo clarified that Kenya’s military actions are part of continuing operations in Somalia.
“This is part of continuing operations, not just in response to Garissa,” said Obonyo.