Terror Attack in Kenya

According to an Al Jazeera report, members of Al-Shabab went onto a college campus in Garissa, Kenya, and began “shooting indiscriminately in dormitories and killing at least 15 people and wounding 65 others, police said. Kenya’s National Disaster Operation Centre added that 280 of 815 students had been accounted for, with efforts under way to track the others.”

According to the report, the group did claim that they in fact were the ones behind the attacks, and say that they did this because of Kenyan troops fighting against them in Somalia. This is not the first Al-Shabab attack in Kenya; “Armed members of al-Shabab attacked the upscale Westgate mall on Sept. 21, 2013 killing 68 people and injuring 175.”

Along with these killings, it is also said that they are holding a number of Kenyan Christians as hostages.

It is critical that domestic and international actors work to coordinate effective responses against such terror groups. This includes communications between police, governments, and military forces. These attacks are heartbreaking, as so many civilians died. These sorts of actions must continue to be wholeheartedly condemned. Sadly, these groups like Al-Shabab, ISIS, and Boko Haram continue to carry out atrocities often operating where there exists either a weakened centralized state, as well as attacking civilian areas (which are often not as guarded). Hopefully through international cooperation, governments can stop these groups’ and their horrific actions.