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                Al-Shabab Promises 'Another Bloodbath' in Kenya

   by VOA News

   The al-Shabab militant group that claimed responsibility for killing
   148 people on a Kenyan university campus Thursday has promised "another
   bloodbath."

   An al-Shabab statement Saturday said "No amount of precaution or safety
   measures will be able to guarantee your safety, thwart another attack
   or prevent another bloodbath from occurring in you cities." The extreme
   rhetoric continued; Kenya's cities will "run red with blood."

   Late Friday, Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said at least
   three suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack on the
   university.

   "There were quite a number of arrests that have been done today, as we
   speak now this evening we have arrested another three, and I think the
   total number can reach about five, but we will confirm that when we get
   more details. As you know, in the operation things will continue to
   develop," said Nkaissery.

   Authorities have begun moving the bodies of many of the students killed
   by the Islamist militants at Garissa University College to the capital
   for identification.

   Families gathered in Nairobi Friday following the attack at the school,
   which left the 148 people dead as well as the four attackers.

   Relatives formed lines outside of a mortuary as they waited for news of
   the missing.

   The al-Shabab attackers stormed the university campus before dawn
   Thursday and began shooting indiscriminately. Witnesses say the gunmen
   later targeted Christians and freed some Muslims.

   Kenyan security forces battled the militants for 15 hours and rescued
   more than 500 students before fatally shooting the attackers.

   A Kenyan member of parliament, Mohamed Dahiye Duale, told VOA's Somali
   service that at least 143 of those killed were students. He said there
   is strong information that the attackers came from refugee camps in
   Kenya.

   U.S. President Barack Obama expressed "horror and sadness" over the
   attack. The White House said he called Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta
   Friday to express his condolences. It said he also reiterated his plans
   to visit Nairobi in July.

   The Kenyan government is offering a $220,000 reward for an al-Shabab
   member thought to be behind the attacks. Mohammed Mohamud Kuno is
   already on a government watch list. He is suspected to be al-Shabab's
   chief for external operations against Kenya.

   Thursday's attack is the deadliest in Kenya since the 1998 bombing of
   the U.S. Embassy by al-Qaida that killed more than 200 people.

   Al-Shabab says Thursday's attack was revenge for Kenyan military action
   inside neighboring Somalia where the Islamist militant group is based.

   Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has called for greater
   security cooperation with Kenya, offering his condolences and calling
   the attack "barbaric." He said Friday that the killings show the need
   to eliminate the "menace" of al-Shabab from the region.

   Pope Francis on Friday condemned the attack as "senseless brutality."

   Interior Minister Nkaissery says the four gunmen had explosives
   strapped to their bodies and they blew up "like bombs" when police shot
   them.

   Al-Shabab also claimed responsibility for the massacre on Nairobi's
   Westgate Mall in 2013 that killed more than 60 people.

   Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta told the nation that "this is a moment
   for everyone throughout the country to be vigilant as we confront and
   defeat our enemies."

   He ordered 10,000 police recruits whose enrollments are still pending
   to immediately report for training at the police college.

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

   Al-Shabab is an al-Qaida-linked group that has battled the Somali
   government and its allies since 2006. The group has attacked targets in
   Kenya since Nairobi sent troops across the border in 2011.

   The University of Nairobi warned its students last week that Kenyan
   government agencies had intelligence reports indicating al-Shabab was
   planning an attack on a major university, among other targets. It was
   not clear if a similar warning was issued in Garissa.
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   in-kenya/2706626.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/al-shabab-promises-another-bloodbath-in-kenya/2706626.html