7 killed in Kenya's border town

February 21, 2013 | Daily Nation

Seven people were on Thursday morning killed by armed gunmen in Maleley along the Dadaab - Liboi road near the Kenya - Somalia border.

The seven, five men and two women, were ambushed at 5.30 am in their houses as they were preparing to go to the mosque for the morning prayers.

Garissa County Commissioner Maalim Mohamed said that the seven were shot dead by the armed gunmen who are estimated to be 20 in number.

“The incident is a terrible shock and is heart-rending and we still don’t know the motive behind this attack but an investigation has been launched into the matter and the incident will soon come to light,” said Mr Mohamed.

Local leaders in the area who spoke to the Nation on phone said that the bandits were all armed with AK-47 rifles.

“I had just entered the mosque when I heard gun shots, I piped from the window and saw a group of men armed with AK 47 guns, they were shooting indiscriminately. They then walked casually to a nearby bush after accomplishing their mission,” Ali Aden, a local, told the Nation.

According to the County Commissioner, the two women were shot as they attempted to rescue their men.

“These two women were victims of circumstances since the information we have is that they tried to raise the alarm when these attackers struck,” said Mr Mohamed.

He said that a contingent of security officers drawn from the General service Unit, regular and administration police from Dadaab had been combing the area in pursuit of the attackers.

The deceased were identified as Abdi Isse Dahir, Ibrahim Abdi Abdille, Hussein Noor Hassan, Abdi Arte, Moulid Iman Arte, Gudha Abdullahi and Suboi Abdi Haret.

Garissa County has experienced a spate of attacks in the recent weeks, with the latest being the planting of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the Garissa primary school grounds.

Daily Nation