http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/kenyatta-cancels-trip-after-bomb-leaves-12-dead-2083717
Kenyatta cancels trip after bomb leaves 12 dead
Africa / 26 October 2016, 09:09am
Roseleen Nzioka
Nairobi - President Uhuru Kenyatta has cancelled his official trip to
Angola in order to attend a local security meeting in solidarity with
the families of the Kenyans who lost their lives in the Mandera
attack, the State House Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu said.
Esipisu said the Kenyatta sent his condolences to the bereaved and
wished the injured speedy recovery.
A relative is comforted by a friend as he cries after the bodies of
victims of a bomb blast in Mandera were transported to a mortuary in
Nairobi. Picture: Dai Kurokawa. Credit: EPA
"The President condemns in the strongest terms this heinous attack by
these depraved individuals. Our security agencies will do everything
in their power to bring them to justice," Esipisu said the statement
on Tuesday.
He said that Kenyans would not allow themselves to be divided along
religious lines, which is what the terrorists want and added that to
win the war on terror Kenyans needed to work closely with the security
agents.
Kenyans woke up on Tuesday to news of a terror attack at a guest house
in the remote town of Mandera town that killed 12 people.
In a statement to media, the Regional Commissioner of North Eastern
Mohamoud Saleh said that at around 3.30am on Tuesday, an IED bomb
exploded at the Boshari Hotel in Mandera Town and that part of the
building collapsed leaving 12 people dead.
He said the government condemned "this act of terror" and that
investigations were under way to establish the source of the
explosion. Mohamoud said that officers on patrol responded
immediately, cordoned off the area and began search and rescue
operations which were still ongoing.
He said at least six people had been rescued alive from the debris and
that preliminary investigations into the attack were yielding good
leads for the police.
Mandera, he said, is usually under 24 hours security surveillance.
Local media reported that 10 non-locals were among the dead and had
travelled to Mandera to stage plays for set books for the Form Four
(equivalent of O Levels) national exams which begin countrywide in
November.
Mandera is at the border with Somalia and Ethiopia and is considered a
volatile area by Kenyans due to frequent attacks by Somali militias
who cross the porous border between the two countries.
According to a BBC radio report, Al Shabab have claimed responsibility
for the attack.
In November 2014, Al-Shabab fighters hijacked a bus in Mandera and
killed 28 non-Muslims on board. In December 2014, they killed 36
quarry workers. And early this month six people were killed in a
residential building in Mandera. In December 2015, gunmen sprayed a
Mandera bound bus with bullets and asked Muslim passengers to help
them identify the non-Muslim passengers. The Muslims refused and opted
to live or die with the non-Muslims.
Witnesses said the attackers left the scene in disbelief.
Al Shabab attacks on Kenya escalated since 2011 when Kenya sent troops
into Somalia to fight the militias and help the Somali government
stabilise the country.
Received on Wed Oct 26 2016 - 09:44:33 EDT