Five Christians Killed, One Critically Wounded

Five Christians Killed, One Critically Wounded, by Islamic Extremists in Kenya
By Jeremy Reynalds, Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service (jeremyreynalds@gmail.com)
MANDERA, KENYA. (ANS -- March 25, 2015) -- Islamic extremists from Somalia took responsibility for killing four Christians on March 17, and another on March 15 in northeast Kenya.
According to a story by Morning Star News, Somali rebel Al Shabaab militiamen or their Somali sympathizers have carried out several attacks on Kenyan soil the past two years, usually separating out Christians and executing them. It’s in retaliation for Kenya's military involvement in the Somali government's fight against the insurgents.
Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for Tuesday's shooting deaths of four Kenyan Christians at a money-transfer shop in Wajir. An explosion, either from a grenade or a fire set with gasoline, then burned the bodies beyond recognition, area sources said.
An eyewitness from the same church denomination and area in central Kenya as the four victims told Morning Star News the deceased were members of the East Africa Pentecostal Church (EAPC) in Gacigongo sub-location, Tharaka-Nithi County.
A fifth Christian from the same area was critically injured in the attack and was airlifted to Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.
All five Christians, as well as the eyewitness who identified the dead, had come to Wajir to find jobs in construction. The four who were killed were shot while inside the shop trying to send money to their families in central Kenya, an area source told Morning Star News.
An EAPC pastor in Gacigongo told Morning Star News that the Christians killed were very active members of their congregations, and his church is mourning their deaths.
“The church is yet to come to terms with the barbaric destruction of their members,” Morning Star News reported the pastor said.
The critically injured individual was outside the shop when bullets struck him in the stomach, hands and legs. He was rushed to a hospital in Wajir before being airlifted to Nairobi, an area pastor said.
Two others were injured in the attack. They were another Kenyan, and a Somali woman clerking at the shop who sustained a minor injury from the shooting.
“We feel the Somali lady who suffered the bullet shot was just accidental, because for the rest of the victims, the gunshot hit them directly,” Morning Star News reported the area source said. “The guns which were fired hit the targeted persons.”
The charred remains of those who died were sent to Nairobi so that a pathologist could try to identify them through their families’ DNA, sources said.
The gunmen spoke in the Somali language, possibly allowing them to receive a signal to shoot that the migrant workers would not have understood, the area pastor said.
After the gunshots, the attackers locked the victims inside the shop and set them ablaze, an area pastor said.
“It is quite a horrific act that after the four victims being shot dead, the attackers went ahead and burned their bodies,” Morning Star News reported he said. “I know we as pastors here in Wajir are not safe at all.”
County Police Commander Samuel Mukindia reportedly confirmed that the assailants killed four people and wounded three others who were inside the shop at the time of the raid.
A representative for the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al Shabaab, Abdulaziz Abu Musab, took responsibility for the killings and said such attacks will continue.
Mandera attack
In Mandera, also in northeastern Kenya but 390 kilometers (242 miles) away, an EAPC member was shot dead on March 15, an area pastor told Morning Star News. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility.
The man, from western Kenya, was sprayed with gunfire along with three other Kenyans after leaving the car repair shop where they worked, AK Garage, to buy some food at about 8:30 p.m. He was hit in the head and died immediately; the other three were wounded. All four were known to attend churches in Mandera.
“Though Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility, we cannot rule out jealousy from the community on the success of the business,” Morning Star News reported the pastor said.
One of the three wounded is receiving treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital for a broken right hand, a leg wound and a bullet lodged in his waist. The two other injured Christians have been discharged.
The government had assured non-local workers that it would beef up security after attacks last year.
More than 800 teachers who came to Mandera from outside the area have vowed not to return to work there despite government assurance of security and threats to fire them.
In the Mandera attack, several shots were fired from a white car, and then gunmen fled, the pastor said.
“We really need prayers,” Morning Star News reported he said. “If we leave Mandera, it means abandoning God's work.”
For more information visit www.morningstarnews.org
Photo caption:  1) Al Shabaab militants hunting for non-Muslims. 2) Al Shabaab members try out their weapons.
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