From: People For Peace
Voices of Justice for Peace
Regional News
BY FR JOACHIM OMOLO OUKO, AJ
NAIROBI-KENYA
MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012
Al Shabaab attack in Kenya will not end as long as Kenyan military are still fighting them in Somalia. This is because when Kenyan military forces stormed into Somalia eight months ago, the Al-Shabab vowed to get revenge by killing Kenyan civilians.
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It explains why in every attack even though the Kenyan Government says it will make sure that other attacks will not happen the attacks continue.
The summery of the attacks: On Sunday July 1, 2012 at about 10:30am four gunmen attacked the African Inland Church in Northern Kenya, Garissa town. It then followed the Catholic Church, 3 kms from the AIC church. 17 people have been confirmed dead and 50 more injured some very seriously.
On 29 June 2012 a number of humanitarian relief workers were kidnapped from Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya. There was also a reported bomb blast on 24 June 2012 in Mishomoroni, 10 km from Mombasa where a number of people were reported to have been injured.
There was again a reported grenade attack on a club in Mombasa on the evening of 15 May, where a number of people were injured. Again there was a reported grenade attack on a church near Nairobi city centre on 29 April, with one reported death and a number of injuries.
There were also a series of explosive devices detonated in the evening of 31 March: one in Mtwapa, a town 15km north of Mombasa, and others in a bar near Mombasa stadium. A number of people have been injured.
On 12 January 2012, terrorists attacked a police camp near Wajir using explosives and gunfire. At least five people were killed. On 31 December 2011, a hand grenade attack on a club in Garissa town killed five people.
On December 20, 2010 three people were killed and 39 injured by a bomb explosion at a bus station in Nairobi. The blast happened as passengers passed through a security checkpoint before boarding a Kampala coach, which was bound for Kampala in neighbouring Uganda.
Earlier, Uganda’s police chief had warned of attacks by Somali militants. The Islamist group al-Shabab in July said it had carried out twin bomb blasts in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in retaliation for Uganda’s support for Somalia’s government.
Most of the wounded were Ugandans travelling home for Christmas. The blast smashed the windows of the Kampala Coach Vehicle, and left blood stains and scattered bags on the ground nearby.
Officials in Uganda say the country is vulnerable to further attacks from al Shabaab who have vowed to keep striking until a Ugandan army contingent, leading an African Union-mandated force protecting Somalia’s government, withdraws. Al Shabaab is closely linked to al Qaeda.
On the weekend of 5-6 November 2011, there was a grenade attack on a church in Garissa Town that killed 2 people. On 28 October 2011, a police vehicle was hit in Garissa Town.
On 27 October 2011 there was an attack on a vehicle in Mandera. Several people were killed. On 24 October 2011, there was a grenade attack at a bar near the business district in Nairobi. Several people were injured. An explosive device was also thrown at a bus stop in central Nairobi. One person was killed and several injured.
On 13 October 2011, two aid workers were kidnapped from Dadaab refugee camp. On 1 October 2011, A French national was kidnapped at a beach resort close to Lamu, 150km from the Kenya-Somalia border. On 11 September 2011, Two British nationals were attacked at a beach resort north of Lamu, near the Kenya-Somalia border. One was killed and the other kidnapped.
Cases of kidnapping have increased since mid-2009 in Nairobi and some other major towns. Some have been opportunist crimes linked to car-jackings, while others appear to have been more organised.
That year in October a resident British national was kidnapped and two other incidents towards the end of 2009 involving resident European nationals. On 13 June 2010 six people were killed and over 100 injured following explosions at a rally in Uhuru Park in central Nairobi.
Although not limited, other areas that are at risk include Kibera, Mathare, Huruma, Mukuru Kwa Njenga, Mukuru Kwa Reuben, Korogocho, Kariobangi, Kangemi, Mwiki and Kawangware.
Apart from revenge other terrorist attacks in Kenya are widely believed to be the revenge, especially the 1998 United States embassy bombings for American involvement in the extradition, and alleged torture, of four members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad who had been arrested in Albania in the two months prior to the explosions. At least 200 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in Kenya and Tanzania.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
People for Peace in Africa
Tel +254-7350-14559/+254-722-623-578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Peaceful world is the greatest heritage
That this generation can give to the generations
To come- All of us have a role.