Kenya al-Shabab: Five in custody after Garissa massacre

Five people are in custody following the al-Shabab attack in eastern Kenya on Thursday which left almost 150 people dead, officials say.

Some of the suspects were arrested while trying to flee to neighbouring Somalia, the internal security ministry said.

At least 148 people – mostly students – were killed when gunmen attacked a university campus in Garissa.

Al-Shabab has since pledged a “long, gruesome war” against Kenya.

The militant group said its attacks were in retaliation for acts by Kenya’s security forces, who are part of the African Union’s mission in Somalia against al-Shabab.

Security questions

In Garissa, a survivor has emerged from hiding more than two days after the assault was unleashed.

The 19-year-old girl was found unhurt in a cupboard on Saturday, but security officials had to bring in a teacher to convince her that it was safe to come out, the BBC’s Andrew Harding reports.

She told reporters that she drank body lotion when she felt hungry.

Four other people were found alive on the campus on Friday, including two suspects. One was said to be a Tanzanian national with no known links to the university.

Kenya Red Cross staff assist a woman after she viewed the body of a relative killed in Thursday's attack Nairobi, Kenya 03/04/2015

The bodies of those killed were flown to the Kenyan capital for identification by their relatives

Relatives queue to view the bodies of their loved ones in Nairobi 03/04/2015

People queued to get in to the Nairobi funeral parlour where their relatives had been taken

Local Muslims in Garissa demonstrate in sympathy with the victims of Thursday's attack 03/04/2015

In Garissa, local Muslims staged a demonstration in solidarity with Christian victims of the attack

While many of the survivors spoke to the media, little is known so far about those who were killed.

Their bodies have been flown to Nairobi for identification, as local mortuaries have been unable to cope, and many of the students killed came from other parts of the country.

There has been criticism in Garissa, which is 150km (100 miles) from the Somali border, at how the security services dealt with the attack.

 

BBC

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