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Kenyans Identify Relatives Killed at College Kenyans Identify Relatives Killed at College
(35 minutes later)
NAIROBI, Kenya — They gathered in the hundreds outside the Chiromo Funeral Parlor, a morgue where the bodies of their loved ones had been brought. Some sat waiting for their turn to go inside, while others stood in a long line. Their faces went pale and their eyes teared up every time someone re-emerged wailing, weeping or being carried. NAIROBI, Kenya — They gathered by the hundreds outside the Chiromo funeral home and morgue, where the bodies of their loved ones had been brought. Some sat waiting for their turn to go inside, while others stood in a long line. Their faces went pale and their eyes teared up every time someone emerged, wailing, weeping or collapsing on a companion’s shoulder.
“Why?” one man cried, moving his hands up and down, as Kenya Red Cross workers held him by both arms and took him to a tent to meet a counselor. “Why?” one man cried, moving his hands up and down. Kenya Red Cross workers, holding both of his arms, took him to a tent to meet a counselor.
Scores of families were waiting at the morgue on Saturday to identify relatives who died on Thursday when armed men belonging to the Shabab, the Somali Islamist extremist group, stormed a university campus and killed nearly 150 students in Kenya’s worst terrorist attack since the 1998 bombing of the United States Embassy in Nairobi. The families were at the morgue on Saturday to identify relatives killed on Thursday by armed men from the Shabab, the Somali Islamist extremist group, who stormed a university campus in Garissa, separating Muslims from Christians and shooting the Christians. In the end, nearly 150 students were killed in the massacre, Kenya’s worst terrorist attack since the 1998 bombing of the United States Embassy in Nairobi.
Global leaders have condemned the attack, including the pope and President Obama. At the Nyayo National Stadium, in another part of Nairobi, a caravan of eight buses carrying hundreds of survivors arrived from Garissa, about 230 miles northeast of Nairobi, under heavy rain as their relatives anxiously waited. Some wept, while others jumped up and down and waved their arms joyously as they saw their loved ones.
Mr. Obama called President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya on Friday to express condolences and emphasize his support for the country in the aftermath of what the White House called “despicable attacks.” Mr. Obama reassured Mr. Kenyatta that he still planned to visit Nairobi in July on his first trip to his father’s homeland since taking office. “That’s my brother,” Conny Oumah shouted as she ran to hug her brother, Vittalis Opiyo. “I am so happy he is safe.”
In a statement afterward, the White House said the two leaders would use the July visit to “discuss how to strengthen counterterrorism cooperation and continue to work together to build a safer and more prosperous future for Kenya and the broader region.” Roselyne Oganogo waited with relatives for hours for her 19-year-old sister, Eunice, a freshman at Garissa University College.
The Shabab said on Saturday that the attack on the university was in retaliation for killings carried out by Kenyan troops fighting the rebels in Somalia and warned of more attacks, The Associated Press reported. “Thank God she is safe,” Ms. Oganogo said as Eunice emerged from the crowd of students, her face still drawn in disbelief.
“Kenyan cities will run red with blood,” said a statement that appeared on Shabab-affiliated websites and Twitter accounts, according to the SITE intelligence monitoring group. Five people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack, The A.P. reported, citing a Twitter post from an Interior Ministry spokesman, Mwenda Njoka. Those arrested included three people trying to cross into Somalia and two others at the university, he said. In a statement published on Saturday on the website of Radio Andalus, a station affiliated with the Shabab, the group said the attack on the university was in retaliation for killings carried out by Kenyan troops fighting the militants in Somalia.
Psychologists, welfare workers and volunteers were also at the morgue on Saturday, trying to help. The violence will continue, the Shabab warned. “Kenyan cities will run red with blood,” said a statement that appeared on other Shabab-affiliated websites and Twitter accounts, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors terrorist activity.
“They are in grief, traumatized,” said Terry Wachira, from the Kenya Counselors and Psychologists Association. “Some have broken down.” Psychologists, welfare workers and volunteers were also at the morgue on Saturday. “They are in grief, traumatized,” said Terry Wachira, from the Kenya Counselors and Psychologists Association. “Some have broken down.”
Simon Karanja’s sister-in-law, Anna, was a business student at Garissa University College, the scene of last week’s carnage. She was a Christian who enjoyed gospel music and hoped to get a degree that would guarantee her a job in the corporate world. One man, Simon Karanja, said his sister-in-law, Anna, was a business student at the university, a Christian who enjoyed gospel music and hoped to get a degree that would guarantee her a job in the corporate world. On Friday, Mr. Karanja, along with other relatives, was still hopeful that she would turn up alive.
On Friday, Mr. Karanja, along with other relatives, was still hopeful she would turn out to be alive. On Saturday afternoon, they identified her body at the morgue. On Saturday afternoon, they identified her body at the morgue.
“We were in shock,” said the soft-spoken Mr. Karanja.“We were in shock,” said the soft-spoken Mr. Karanja.
Some have expressed frustration with the Kenyan government. The attack has been widely condemned. President Obama called President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya on Friday to express condolences and emphasize his support for the country in the aftermath of what White House officials called “despicable attacks.” Mr. Obama reassured Mr. Kenyatta that he still planned to visit Nairobi in July, on his first trip to his father’s homeland since taking office.
“These guys were playing with the students,” Samuel Moroto, a lawmaker, said of the attackers. “Where was security all this time?” In a statement afterward, the Obama administration said the two leaders would use the July visit to “discuss how to strengthen counterterrorism cooperation and continue to work together to build a safer and more prosperous future for Kenya and the broader region.”
The attackers had ordered some of the students to lie on the floor, taunted them and told them to call their parents and let them know that the assault was payback for Kenya’s involvement in Somalia. Then they were shot. In a televised address on Saturday, Mr. Kenyatta called the massacre “an attack on our humanity” and declared three days of national mourning.
“The government needs to improve security,” said Alex Kangethe, 50, a taxi driver. Mr. Kenyatta also confirmed that Kenyan security forces had killed four of the terrorists, while arresting five.
The Kenyan Army entered Somalia in 2011 after a series of kidnappings that targeted tourists along the coast. The forces are now part of an African Union mission that is fighting the Shabab. A debate is raging among Kenyans about whether their country should remain in Somalia. Survivors said the attackers had told the students that if they came out of their dorms, their lives would be spared. Once outside, the students were ordered to lie on the ground. They were shot in the back of the head. Others were taunted and told to call their parents and let them know that the assault was payback for Kenya’s involvement in Somalia. They, too, were shot.
“The Kenyan Defense Forces should stay in Somalia,” said Mr. Kangethe. “Imagine if they were not there.” Outside the morgue and stadium on Saturday, some onlookers expressed frustration with the Kenyan government.
Paul Okiring, 25, disagreed. “These guys were playing with the students,” Samuel Moroto, a lawmaker, said of the attackers. “Where was security all this time?” The Kenyan Army entered Somalia in 2011 after a series of kidnappings that targeted tourists along the coast. The forces are now part of an African Union mission that is fighting the Shabab. Kenyans are divided about whether their country should remain in Somalia.
“The Kenyan Defense Forces should leave Somalia,” he said. “It could help.” Alex Kangethe, 50, a taxi driver, said the troops were needed there. “The Kenyan defense forces should stay in Somalia,” said Mr. Kangethe. “Imagine if they were not there.” But Paul Okiring, 25, disagreed. Recalling the soldiers “could help,” he said.
Last year, after a number of attacks by the Shabab that rocked the country, the government launched a counterterrorism operation known as Operation Usalama, or Operation Peace. Last year, after a number of attacks by the Shabab that rocked the country, the government held a counterterrorism operation known as Operation Usalama, or Operation Peace, in which thousands of undocumented refugees, immigrants and Kenyan citizens were rounded up and arrested. Human rights groups had criticized the operation, saying it discriminated against refugees and Kenyans with ethnic Somali backgrounds. Mr. Kangethe believes that it should be revived.
Mr. Kangethe believes it should be revived.
“They need to clean the houses one by one,” he said. “It is not harassment, but to check.”“They need to clean the houses one by one,” he said. “It is not harassment, but to check.”
Human rights groups had criticized the operation last year, saying it discriminated against refugees and Kenyans with ethnic Somali backgrounds.
There is concern here that this latest attack may fuel tensions in Kenya along ethnic and religious lines.There is concern here that this latest attack may fuel tensions in Kenya along ethnic and religious lines.
“Unless government acts swiftly, we will have a social problem,” said Mr. Moroto, the lawmaker.“Unless government acts swiftly, we will have a social problem,” said Mr. Moroto, the lawmaker.
Another member of Parliament, Sabina Chege, agreed, saying, “We cannot allow this to divide us by ethnicity or religion.”
A spokesman for the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, Adan Wachu, condemned the attackers.A spokesman for the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, Adan Wachu, condemned the attackers.
“My utmost condolences to the families of the innocent children,” he said tearfully. “If they were men enough, they would have faced men in uniform, not students.”“My utmost condolences to the families of the innocent children,” he said tearfully. “If they were men enough, they would have faced men in uniform, not students.”
At the Nyayo National Stadium, in Nairobi, families and friends waited on Saturday for the arrival by bus of survivors from Garissa. “I called him immediately after the attack, but he did not pick up the phone,” Mr. Okiring said of his younger brother, Obeddy. “Then the phone stopped ringing.”
Obeddy, his brother said, was a math and business student and wanted to be a teacher.
“He loves soccer,” he said, adding, “His Facebook nickname is Jelavic Deco,” after the last names of the Croatian soccer player Nikica Jelavic and the Portuguese player Anderson Luís de Souza, known as Deco.
“He is a big Chelsea fan.”