Jihadists have attacked a university residence killing 147 people. Shock testimonies speak of “decapitated corpses”.
Good Friday came a day early for Christian students studying at Kenya’s Garissa University. A group of Somali al-Shabab militants penetrated the campus at 5.30 am killing two security guards and made their way to the dormitories armed with assault rifles. The campus’ 815 students were thrown out of bed, gathered in large halls and split into groups according to their faith: Muslims who managed to recite verses from the Quran were set free, Christians who were not able to were either killed or taken hostage. According to the first official estimates 147 confirmed deaths have been recorded. Around 500 students have been traced but there are 300 whose whereablouts are unknown.
Some witnesses spoke of decapitated corpses: “As we were escaping we saw many bodies without heads, they killed a lot of people,” witnesses told African media. Al-Shabab spokesman, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage telephoned AFP news agency about the attack on the North-Eastern Garissa University, confirming that “Muslims were separated from others and released”. He justified the raid by saying that “Kenya is at war with Somalia and so our people have a mission to kill anyone who is against al-Shabab”. The Somalia-based jihadist militant group is part of the Al-Qaeda network in East Africa.
“Even today,” Pope Francis said at Wednesday’s General Audience, “there are many men and women, true martyrs who offer their life with Jesus to confess the faith, only for that reason.” This evening’s Way of the Cross will commemorate their sacrifice.
