Al Shabaab attack on Kenya university: live - Telegraph.co.uk

The ministry in another tweet clarified that neutralising is "security speak for killed".

16.27 The Telegraph understands that the number of dead is 25. So far, 65 are wounded. Unknown number are still being held hostage.

16.24 James Duddridge, Britain's Minister for Africa, has condemned the terrorist attack and pledged continued UK support in the fight against Al Shabaab.

Mr Duddridge said:

I strongly condemn the attack that took place this morning in Garissa, Kenya. I offer my condolences to the families and loved ones of those who died.

There can be no place for such senseless acts of violence in our societies. The UK will continue to stand by and support the Kenyan government in its fight against terrorism, and in its efforts to bring to justice those responsible for this barbaric act.

15.50 All of the staff from the university are fine.

It remains unclear whether students are being held hostage, and if so, how many.

15.46 Apparently some terrible photos are emerging from the scene.

The Kenyan government is warning against publishing them.

15.43 Several local journalists citing NGOs and security officials are now questioning the official death toll of 15, saying bodies mounting up in hospitals suggest it may be higher.

15.19 Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan president, has just issued the following statement:

Fellow Kenyans,

I am saddened to inform the Nation that early today, terrorists attacked Garissa University College killed and wounded several people and have taken others hostage.

The full details of casualties will !e communicated in due course by the Cabinet secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government who is coordinating operations with the Inspector General of the Police in Garissa.

On behalf of my Government, I extend condolences to the families of those who have perished in this attack. We continue to pray for the quick recovery of the injured, and the safe rescue of those held hostage. I also assure the Nation that my Government has undertaken appropriate deployment to the affectedarea, and is fully seized of the situation. I also urge Kenyans to stay calm as we resolve this matter, and to provide the authorities with any information they may have in connection with any threats to our security.

This is a moment for everyone throughout the country to be vigilant as we continue to confront and defeat our enemies.

I further direct the Inspector General of Police to take urgent steps and ensure that the 10,000 recruits whose enrolment is pending, promptly report for training at the Kenya Police College, Kiganko. I take full responsi!ility for this directive.

We have suffered unnecessarily due to shortage of security personnel. Kenya badly needs additional officers, and I will not keep the nation waiting.

15.00 Kenya has just put out a wanted poster for Gacmadhere.

14.58 Save The Children, which works in Kenya, has condemned the attack.

Duncan Harvey, country director at Save the Children Kenya, said:

Today’s attacks are both unjustified and horrifying in equal measure. The simple act of going to school or university is becoming increasingly perilous for young people across the world, with attacks on schools constantly on the rise.

Every child has a right to education and the sanctity of such institutions must be upheld. Schools and universities should be zones of peace where children can learn in safety.

14.43

14.40 From Aislinn Laing, our Africa correspondent:

A bit more on Dulyaden Gacmadhere, whom the Kenyan authorities believe is behind these attacks. He's also been identified variously as Dulyadinaka Gamadheereis and Mohammed Kuno and even before today's outrage, was one of the most wanted men in Kenya because he was believed to be heading up al Shabaab's operations in the east African country.

Gacmadhere is a Kenyan national from the Ogaden tribe and has three wives, two of whom are from Garissa and the third of whom is from Ras Kamboni, a town in Somalia's Juba province near the border with Kenya which is believed to have been used for terror training camps and to launch attacks in the past.

Gacmadhere, a former Madrassa teacher, is reported to have claimed responsibility for an horrific attack on a bus in November near the town of Mandera that saw 28 non-Muslim passengers murdered.

He is understood to be one of three siblings who have all joined with al Shabaab. One is reported to have shot himself with his own gun while training new recruits while the other is said to be still actively recruiting for the terror group.

Joseph Nkaissery, the Kenyan Interior Cabinet Secretary, said he hoped the bounty on Gacmadhere's head encourage Kenyans to look out for him.

"The bounty is KES 5m and we ask any person with information on his whereabouts to inform the police as soon as possible," he said.

14.05 Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said the recruitment of 10,000 new police officers would be speeded up.

Mr Kenyatta, in a brief state of the nation address, directed Kenya's police "to take urgent steps and ensure that the 10,000 recruits whose enrolment is pending" be speeded up.

Other than urging Kenyans to remain calm and provide information on the attack, Mr Kenyatta did not outline any other measures about how the security services would prevent future attacks by al Shabaab militants.

13.46 More from Aislinn Laing in Johannesburg:

Journalist Alinoor Moulid says he's spoken to students who described "at least five armed men" who stormed the university campus at dawn and first targeted the on-site mosque along with dormitories.

The US's embassy in Nairobi has said it is "saddened and angered" by the Garissa terrorist attack. "Our deepest condolences 2 family/friends of victims. #CowardsNeverWin," it added in a tweeted statement.

There's growing anger that just two police officers were apparently assigned to guard the entrance to the university, along with its own security staff, when other universities had warned their students about stepped up security because of intelligence about fresh threats in recent days.

The United States International University - Africa; Kenyatta University in Nairobi; and the University of Nairobi all issued security alerts to its students.

The University of Nairobi referred to a specific terror threat against universities in a letter circulated to students.

"Intelligence reports indicate that the al Shabaab terror group is planning retaliatory attacks on vital institutions in Nairobi including a university. The information is already being processed by relevant government agencies with an objective of putting necessary measures in place to foil such attempts," it said in a statement by WM Wahome, UoN’s chief security officer.

13.36

13.26 Our Africa correspondent, Aislinn Laing, sends the following update:

Kenyan Red Cross reporting on Twitter that 50 hostages have been freed after being held in a female dormitory.

Aid agencies are moving in with medical supplies and residents of Garissa have begun queuing up to give blood to help the many injured in the attack.

@AlinoorMB, a Garissa-based journalist, reports on Twitter that Kenya's president Uhuru Kenyatta has said the government "will deal ruthlessly with the terrorists". It has announced a 5m Kenyan Shillings (£36,000) reward for the capture of al Shabaab commander named as Dulyaden Gacmadhere for "masterminding" the Garissa attack.

Meanwhile Kenyan commentators have raised concerns that the attack in Garissa might be a decoy for a larger attack in Nairobi, which has been warned off for some weeks.

13.24 Al Jazeera's correspondent Malcolm Webb is on the scene, and reports that a tank is heading to the scene.

12.46 In Garissa, local people have gathered to donate blood.

12.45 Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper has produced this timeline and graphic of events.

12.40 Arrangements are being made to evacuate the injured to Nairobi.

The government calls on Kenyans to donate blood.

12.28 From IRIN news, Ben Parker has created this animation showing Shabaab attacks from 1997 to 2014.

He calculates that there have been 116 attacks in that time .

12.22 The first eyewitness accounts are beginning to come in.

Collins Wetangula, the vice chairman of the student union, said he was preparing to take a shower when he heard gunshots coming from Tana dorm, which hosts both men and women, 150 yards away. The campus has six dorms and at least 887 students, he said.

He told AP news agency that when he heard the gunshots he locked himself and three roommates in their room.

All I could hear were footsteps and gunshots nobody was screaming because they thought this would lead the gunmen to know where they are.

The gunmen were saying sisi ni al-Shabab (Swaihi for we are al-Shabaab).

If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot.

With each blast of the gun I thought I was going to die.

The next thing, we saw people in military uniform through the window of the back of our rooms who identified themselves as the Kenyan military.

The soldiers took him and around 20 others to safety.

12.17 Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said 280 out of 815 students at the university attacked in the northeastern Kenyan town of Garissa have been accounted for, according to Kenya's national disaster agency.

The disaster body did not say how many students remain trapped in the campus where Somali Islamist gunmen are holding hostages and battling Kenyan security services.

12.15 A spokesman for Shabaab told AFP they were behind the early morning assault on the university in Garissa.

Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, Shabaab spokesman, said:

When our men arrived, they released the Muslims. We are holding others hostage.

Our people are still there, they are fighting and their mission is to kill those who are against the Shabaab.

Kenya is at war with Somalia.

12.14 The interior ministry said one of the suspected gunmen had been arrested as he tried to flee.

11.59 Kenya Defence Forces soldiers move behind a thicket in Garissa town. The attack has been going on for almost six hours now.

11.55 Kenyan police told us an hour ago that they would be giving a news conference shortly.

We'll bring you that as soon as we get it.

11.48 Shabaab say they have separate Christian and Muslim students.

It is still unclear how many students are being held.

11.45 Our Kenya correspondent, Mike Pflanz, sends the following summary:

- Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility, saying "there are many Christians' bodies there and we are still holding many Christians hostage"

- Local media saying 15 confirmed dead

- Gunmen still holed up in one hall of residence with hostages

- 850 students would have been there preparing to go home for Easter break

You can read his full story here:

Masked gunmen storm university in eastern Kenya

11.31 Al Shabaab, the Somali terrorist network, have claimed responsibility for the siege at Garissa university.

The stand-off is continuing.

11.30 Hello and welcome to our rolling coverage of the Kenyan university attacks.

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