147 dead in Garissa University assault


2015-04-03 11:05:11

NEWS CENTER (DİHA) - At least 147 people, mostly students, have been killed in an assault by al-Shabab militants on a university in north-eastern Kenya.

Heavily armed attackers stormed Garissa University early on Thursday, killing two security guards then firing indiscriminately on students. Four of the gunman were eventually surrounded in a dormitory, and died when their suicide vests detonated. It is the deadliest attack yet by al-Shabab. The militants singled out Christians and shot them, witnesses said. More than 500 students managed to escape, 79 of whom were injured. A fifth gunman has reportedly been arrested.

Nine critically injured students were airlifted to the capital Nairobi for treatment, disaster management officials said. But each student had been accounted for by the end of the evacuation. An overnight curfew has been implemented in Garissa and three other counties in Kenya. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned what he called a "terrorist attack" and said the UN was ready to help Kenya "prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism".

The United States said it was offering Nairobi assistance to take on al-Shabab and would continue to work with others in the region to take on the group. The Kenyan government has named Mohamed Kuno, a high-ranking al-Shabab official, as the mastermind of the attack.

(nt)