al Shabaab lays siege to Christian University in Kenya

A mass of al Shabaab  gunmen raided Garissa University College campus around 5:30 AM local time Thursday morning.  The two security personnel guarding the campus have been shot.  Shooting was indiscriminate at first but the gunmen are now believed to be sorting out those whom are Muslim and freeing them.

Garissa, Kenya lies almost directly between Nairobi, Kenya and the coastal Somali town of Kismayo which was recently a strong hold for Al Shabaab where they could export resources for cash and import weapons and foreign fighters.  African Union troops have had success in recent years in taking and holding ground from al Shabaab in places like Kisamayo and Barawe.  This has led al Shabaab to carry out heinous attacks in border towns like Mandera and coastal Kenyan cities like Mpekatoni where they sift Christians from Muslims and execute the Christians.

In Garissa, as of this writing, 15 are dead and 550 students are unaccounted for of 815.  Gunfire and the sound of explosions are still being reported and Kenyan troops are now engaged.  Hostages are being held.  50 students have been freed so far.

Mohammed Kuno, aka Gamadhere, is believed to have planned and coordinated this attack.   He is already wanted by Kenyan authorities for the attacks in Mandera.  The bounty for his capture has been raised. This attack has the same signature and comes in the wake of both intelligence warnings about al Shabaab in neighboring Uganda as well as rumors of a schism between al Shabaab and al Qaeda.   After Tuesday’s assassination by al Shabaab of a Ugandan prosecutor in the World Cup bombing case, it is time to ask if the stage is being set for an allegiance with IS.