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Gunmen kill five in fresh Kenya coast attack

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At least five people have been killed in a new attack on Kenya's coastal region, officials said Tuesday, one week after some 60 people died in twin massacres nearby.

Some were hacked to death with knives, others shot and executed at close quarters, mirroring similar tactics used in earlier attacks claimed by Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab.

The attack took place overnight on a small village near the town of Witu, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) on the mainland west of the tourist island of Lamu.

"There are reports of five dead," Lamu County Commissioner Stephen Ikua told AFP, calling it an "unfortunate attack", the third in the area this month.

"We have sent our officers to the ground to get more details... they are on the ground persuing the attackers."

The village is reported to be a mix of Kenyan ethnic groups.

"Two of the men were killed with knives, the three remaining were shot, executed at very close range, all were men," deputy district commissioner Benson Maisori said.

A man pushes his bicycle in an empty market in Mpeketoni  in Lamu county along the Kenyan coast on J...
A man pushes his bicycle in an empty market in Mpeketoni, in Lamu county along the Kenyan coast on June 17, 2014
Simon Maina, AFP

Several people were reported to have been wounded in the attack and have been taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, local councillor Athaman Badi said.

There was no immediate claims of responsiblity.

Attacks last week on the nearby coastal Mpeketoni district left at least 60 dead and were claimed by Somalia's Islamist Shebab insurgents, though President Uhuru Kenyatta blamed "well-planned, orchestrated and politically motivated ethnic violence" carried out by "local political networks".

- Attacks stoking ethnic tensions -

"The style of the attack is very similar to that at Mpeketoni, it seems like it is the same men," Maisori added.

Kenyatta's accusations have stoked already tense political rivalry between the government and opposition parties, and raised fears of renewed ethnic tension.

It has also badly dented Kenya's tourist industry at one of its traditionally busiest times of the year, a key foreign currency earner and massive employer for the country.

After the attacks, Kenyan security forces killed five people they suspected of involvement in the massacres, recovering AK-47 assault rifles as well as ammunition.

Three others have also been charged in connection with the killings.

However, Somalia's Shebab insisted they carried out the massacres. They have carried out a string of revenge attacks for Kenya's military role in southern Somalia, including last year's siege of the Westgate shopping mall that left 67 people dead.

Kenyan fighter jets and attack helicopters renewed air strikes on Sunday in southern Somalia targeting Shebab bases, as part of an offensive by the 22,000-strong UN-backed AU mission in Somalia (AMISOM), who launched in March a fresh bid to wrest remaining towns from the Islamists.

But Shebab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab, who said Kenyan troops with the AU were also fighting the Islamists on the ground Monday, dismissed as propaganda Kenyan claims over 80 of his fighters had been killed.

In separate attacks, at least 20 people were killed over the weekend in northeastern Kenya in ethnic clashes, the latest in a series of revenge attacks between rival Somali clans that has killed over 80 people and forced over 75,000 people from their homes since May.

At least five people have been killed in a new attack on Kenya’s coastal region, officials said Tuesday, one week after some 60 people died in twin massacres nearby.

Some were hacked to death with knives, others shot and executed at close quarters, mirroring similar tactics used in earlier attacks claimed by Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab.

The attack took place overnight on a small village near the town of Witu, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) on the mainland west of the tourist island of Lamu.

“There are reports of five dead,” Lamu County Commissioner Stephen Ikua told AFP, calling it an “unfortunate attack”, the third in the area this month.

“We have sent our officers to the ground to get more details… they are on the ground persuing the attackers.”

The village is reported to be a mix of Kenyan ethnic groups.

“Two of the men were killed with knives, the three remaining were shot, executed at very close range, all were men,” deputy district commissioner Benson Maisori said.

A man pushes his bicycle in an empty market in Mpeketoni  in Lamu county along the Kenyan coast on J...

A man pushes his bicycle in an empty market in Mpeketoni, in Lamu county along the Kenyan coast on June 17, 2014
Simon Maina, AFP

Several people were reported to have been wounded in the attack and have been taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, local councillor Athaman Badi said.

There was no immediate claims of responsiblity.

Attacks last week on the nearby coastal Mpeketoni district left at least 60 dead and were claimed by Somalia’s Islamist Shebab insurgents, though President Uhuru Kenyatta blamed “well-planned, orchestrated and politically motivated ethnic violence” carried out by “local political networks”.

– Attacks stoking ethnic tensions –

“The style of the attack is very similar to that at Mpeketoni, it seems like it is the same men,” Maisori added.

Kenyatta’s accusations have stoked already tense political rivalry between the government and opposition parties, and raised fears of renewed ethnic tension.

It has also badly dented Kenya’s tourist industry at one of its traditionally busiest times of the year, a key foreign currency earner and massive employer for the country.

After the attacks, Kenyan security forces killed five people they suspected of involvement in the massacres, recovering AK-47 assault rifles as well as ammunition.

Three others have also been charged in connection with the killings.

However, Somalia’s Shebab insisted they carried out the massacres. They have carried out a string of revenge attacks for Kenya’s military role in southern Somalia, including last year’s siege of the Westgate shopping mall that left 67 people dead.

Kenyan fighter jets and attack helicopters renewed air strikes on Sunday in southern Somalia targeting Shebab bases, as part of an offensive by the 22,000-strong UN-backed AU mission in Somalia (AMISOM), who launched in March a fresh bid to wrest remaining towns from the Islamists.

But Shebab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab, who said Kenyan troops with the AU were also fighting the Islamists on the ground Monday, dismissed as propaganda Kenyan claims over 80 of his fighters had been killed.

In separate attacks, at least 20 people were killed over the weekend in northeastern Kenya in ethnic clashes, the latest in a series of revenge attacks between rival Somali clans that has killed over 80 people and forced over 75,000 people from their homes since May.

AFP
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With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

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