On Thursday morning, in the deadliest attack yet by
al-Shabab, heavily armed attackers stormed Garissa University. First they
killed the only two security guards that guarded the university and then fired
on the students. At least 147 people, mostly students, were killed in an assault
by al-Shabab militants. More than 500 students managed to escape, 79 of whom
were injured. According to witnesses, the militants singled out Christians and
shot them. Eventually, four of the gunmen were surrounded in a dorm and died
when their suicide vests detonated and another was arrested. All of the students
were evacuated after the siege was over. According to one of the students, he
heard one of the gunmen say “we came to kill or be killed.” An overnight curfew
has been implemented in Garissa and three other counties in Kenya. The Kenyan
government named Mohamed Kuno, a high ranking al-Shabab official, as the
mastermind behind the attack and has placed a $217,000 bounty on him. Al-Shabab
has claimed the reason it attacked the university is because it is at war with
Kenya.
This terrorist attack is most likely going to take a hit on
Kenya’s tourist industry, which isn’t good considering the mall hostage
incident that happened in Kenya not too long ago. The article also stated that
the gunmen singled out Christians and shot them, which can possibly lead to some
sort of religious conflict in the country which already struggled with tensions
between religions. Other sources have stated that Kenya defense officials have
bombed two Shabab training camps in Somalia, which is great because Kenya
should respond to terrorism in a serious and severe way. Another thing that
should happen is get more police officers or security to guard the school since
only two were there at the time of the attack.
Bethany Shaffer
4/7/2015
8:04 p.m.
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