Gunmen kill at least 29 on Kenyan coast
At least 29 people were killed in overnight attacks by gunmen in two counties on the Kenyan coast, where al-Qaida-linked militants last month claimed responsibility for killing 65 people.
The Interior Ministry said one attack killed nine in the trading town of Hindi in Lamu County, the same district where gunmen killed 65 people last month. Another was further south in the Gamba area, where 20 died.
Hindi is about 40 km north of Mpeketoni, while Gamba is about 70 km northwest of Mpeketoni.
"They went around shooting at people and villages indiscriminately," said Abdallah Shahasi, a senior official for the Hindi area, which lies near the old trading port of Lamu and Mpeketoni town.
Sheikh Abdiasis abu Musab, spokesman for al Shabaab's military operations, said in Mogadishu that the Somalia-based group was behind both attacks on Saturday night. It had also said it was responsible for the June raids in Lamu County.
But President Uhuru Kenyatta dismissed al Shabaab's claim last month and blamed local politicians, stoking an already fierce row with the opposition, which denied any role.
Regardless of who is blamed this time, Saturday's raids will hammer an already beleaguered tourist industry that has been hit by a wave of militant attacks and will deepen public frustrations about poor security in Kenya a day before a big opposition rally is planned for the capital.
Also on Sunday, a Russian tourist was shot and killed while touring a historical site in Kenya's port city of Mombasa, police said.
Kenya's deputy police chief said the murder was being treated as "normal thuggery" and not a terrorist incident, explaining the woman was shot after resisting an attempt to steal her camera.
AP - Reuters - AFP
(China Daily 07/07/2014 page12)
