KENYA: Christian and Muslim Faithful Pray for Peace

Hundreds of Kenyan Muslim, Christian faithful and government officials on July 16, held a special joint prayer meeting in Mombasa to preach peace and condemn terror attacks targeting churches in the country.

The meeting brought together Sheiks, Imams and pastors from different churches alongside their followers. They said that the attackers serve their own interests and not those of any religion.

A series of attacks have hit the country’s coastal and the North East regions the latest being the Garissa attack on July 1that killed more than 14 and left 66 others seriously injured.

The attacks on two churches in Garissa followed shortly after the killing of one aid worker and the kidnapping of four others in Dadaab refugee camp, as well as an attack on a nightclub in Mombasa the previous weekend.

Somalia militia group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the twin attacks on two churches in Garissa County who said it was in retaliation for Kenya Defence Forces (KDF)’s incursion in Somalia.

Muslim leaders in Kenya agreed to form self-defence groups to protect churches following the deadly attacks. An Al-Shabaab loyalist Sheikh Hassan Takar said that the militia killed people who did not profess allegiance to Allah.

“The mujahedeen (holy warriors) punished with their hands those believing and worshipping other than Allah,” he said. “The militants will continue until such practice is eliminated,” he added

They urged the Kenyan government to pull its troops out of Somalia, warning that they will target major buildings in Nairobi if they continue fighting the insurgents.

At the same time, Adan Wachu, head of the Supreme Council of Kenyan Muslims, told the BBC the attacks were acts of terrorism.

SOURCE: CISA News