Kenyan Muslims and Christians
This is a familiar scenario in Africa. A more extreme version of this situation played out in Darfur when Sudanese Arabs ran their herds through the arable fields of black Sudanese farmers, raising their ire in a revolt against the government which resulted in a massive onslaught of the Sudanese military aided by Arab horsemen burning and looting tribal villages, raping women, slaughtering thousands and creating hundreds of thousands of homeless refugees."Many of the injured are women and children with severe burns. Eleven have deep cuts on their heads and other body parts."I have counted seven with bullet wounds. We have tried to stabilize them, but honestly it will be a miracle if all of them arrive at hospital alive."
On this occasion this was an attack on the Ormo village of Rekete in Kenya's coastal region. In relation to a long-running tribal dispute over grazing land and water. A Kenyan Red Cross spokesperson claimed to have counted 59 bodies and over 40 injured, taken to hospital in Malindi, 150 kilometres away.
"Most of us were asleep and others had woken up when the men came chanting 'kill them, kill them' toward our village at about seven o'clock'", said one survivor from his hospital bed. "They shot many people and then attacked others with pangas. I was also shot on my right hand and then attacked with a panga on my head. They left me when they thought I was dead because I was unconscious."
One villager described what he had seen; men, women and children being shot and beheaded, while others were burned to cinders in their homes. This represented a retaliatory raid. An attack by Orma youth on Pokomo farmers that ended up with two dead. The farmers had accused the pastoralists of grazing their cattle in their farms. In areas of east Africa such common disputes over grazing and farming land often escalate in this manner.
"They were armed with crude weapons: machetes, bows and arrows and spears. Some had guns. As a result we have lost 31 women, 211 children and six men", said Robert Kitur the area's deputy police chief. "This is a case of our people who have decided to fight amongst themselves, and unless they decide to resolve themselves, there is little we can do" said coast provincial commissioner Samuel Kilele.
And in Mombasa, Kenya's largest city and majority-Muslim, protesters smashed cars and attacked churches after unknown gunmen killed a Muslim cleric held by the United States to be helping Islamist extremists in Somalia. Deputy police chief Robert Kitur explained that the cleric that was killed, Aboud Rogo Mohammed, facted terrorism charges for recruiting non-Somali Africans for al-Shabab.
In revenge, protesters planned to target Christians. They attempted to burn down two churches by setting furniture afire, and vandalized four other churches. Somalia's al-Shabab Islamist terror group in condemning Rogo's killing urged Kenyan Muslims to boycott the presidential election.
"Muslims must take the matter into their own hands, stand united against the Kuffar and take all necessary measures to protect their religion, their honour, their property and their lives from the enemies of Islam."
Police spokesman Charles Owino has his own theory, claiming that Mr. Rogo's killing was a deliberate plot by al-Shabab "to galvanize support among the youth". Prime Minister Raila Odinga has appealed for calm. An "inter-religious war" must be avoided at all cost. "Let's act with restraint as law enforcement agencies get to the root of the matter", he appealed.
"We urge Muslims and Christians not to fight."
Labels: Africa, Christianity, Conflict, Heritage, Islamism, Political Realities
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, August 28, 2012
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