Are you familiar with #PrayForGarissa or #147NotJustANumber? These hash tags, which have been trending, stemmed from a catastrophic event which took place on April 2nd in Garissa, Kenya at Garissa University. The attack, which is said and claimed to be orchestrated by the terrorist group Al-Shabaab, resulted in the deaths of 147 people, who were mostly students.
An ordinary Thursday for students at Garissa University turned into chaos and terror when an explosion and sounds of gun shots ranged from the front gate of the school, waking most of the students up at 5:30am. The intruders split the students up by their religion. Students of Muslim faith were let go, while most students from a Christian background were killed or taken as hostages. Hundreds of fearful students managed to escape by hiding in closets for hours, running, and crawling to safety. The gunshots and explosions did not end until after 15 hours since the attack began. The attack left a bloody scene with 147 bodies. According to Interior Minister Secretary Joseph Nkaissery, "four terrorists were killed and the operation had ended successfully".
Who was behind this horrific massacre? The Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab, which was organized by Kenya's Interior Ministry named Mohamed Mohamud, claimed responsibility for the attack. Al-Shabaab, which means "The Youth" in Arabic, purpose is to build a fundamentalist Islamic state in Somalia. The group lost control of most towns and cities but still has some control of most of southern and central Somalia.
The Garissa University attack is Kenya's most bloodiest attack thus far which was preceded by the 2013 tragedy, also orchestrated by the group, at Nairobi's Westgate Mall.
"This is a moment for everyone throughout the country to be vigilant as we continue to confront and defeat our enemies" - Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta
Continue to pray for the people of Kenya because the road of recovery will be long and hard.
(Photos: Twitter)
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