Death toll from Kenyan university siege rises to 147

GARISSA, Kenya, April 2, 2015 (Garowe Online)-The Death from a siege of which Al-Shabab gunmen laid on a university in the northeastern Kenyan town of Garissa has risen to 147, with more than 100 others were wounded, officials said on Thursday.

The attack which started after gunmen stormed the Garissa university campus is the first major attack after the deadly Westgate mall attack in which more than 67 people killed in September 2013.

Kenya  saw series of deadly attacks by Al-Shabab since it sent troops to Somalia to combat the group's fighters after the east African nation experienced spate of kidnappings of foreign tourists by suspected Al-Shabab gunmen.

As the attack started, witnesses in the town told Garowe Online that the attackers shot dead two guards at the university before forcing their way into the building, taking students and teachers hostage. The assailants later started executing the hostages, according to officials.

Security forces who arrived at the scene have spent more than eight hours to quell the attack, as militants were holed up inside the campus. Kenyan Security forces also managed to rescue more than 500 students and teachers during the attack.

President Uhuru Kenyatta who spoke to the nation has condoled the relatives of the attack, vowing his country would not bow to terrorism. Also, Kenyan Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said the number of deaths could rise as soldiers sweep the area near the Garissa University campus, located about 90 miles from the Somali border, according to The Associated Press news agency.

"We'll not allow terrorists to divide our country on religious lines," said Aden Duale, majority leader in Kenya's National Assembly.

The government is expected to declare three days of mourning, according to the local media.

GAROWEONLINE