Kenya's president sacks minister after Islamic militants kill 36 non-Muslim quarry workers
KENYA'S president replaced his security chiefs after Monday’s murder of 36 non-Muslim quarry workers by Islamic extremists.
The massacre was claimed by Somalia-based terror group al- Shabab, which also killed 28 non- Muslims on a bus 10 days ago.
Yesterday, president Uhuru Kenyatta took over from interior minister Joseph Ole Lenku and police chief David Kimaiyo.
Police said workers in the quarry in north-eastern Kenya were ambushed as they slept. Thirty-two victims were shot and four decapitated.
Worker Peter Nderitu said around 50 heavily-armed men walked into the camp in the early hours and fired warning shots.
He hid but heard colleagues being asked to recite the Shahada, a statement declaring oneness with God after which were killed.
Al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage said the attack was a response to Kenya’s armed presence in Somalia – in which the group has been trying to establish Islamic rule – and atrocities by the Kenyan army.
Last week, about 100 non-Muslims sought refuge at the army base in Mandera, demanding the government evacuate them.
