Govt called upon to investigate church grenade attack

Written By:Claire Wanja/KNA,    Posted: Sun, Nov 06, 2011

Police have opened an investigation, but no arrests have been made The government has been called upon to investigate the Saturday night grenade attack that claimed the lives of two people and four others seriously injured in a local church in Garissa town. Dujis Member of Parliament honorable Aden Bare Duale said the attack which took place inside a house might have been planted intentionally to bring religious discontent among various groups in the country. Speaking during the celebrations to Idd-ul adha at general Muhamud Idd grounds Duale called on the government not to discriminate and victimize the Somali community linking them to Al Shabaab terror group saying that some of the criminals arrested in relation to possession of sophisticated weapons were from other communities. The MP called onto the two principals to safe guard the security of all Kenyans irrespective of their tribes and religious affiliations. The legislator said the Al Shabaab sympathizers are not the Somali community alone since other communities had joined the militia group. He called for inspection of all vehicles and passengers irrespective of their religious background noting that crime has no communal boundary. Duale called on the government to protect residents from military searches in pursuit of weapons instead the government should arrest crime where it occurs. Religious leaders from Garissa town have called on different denominations to be calm as the governments investigate the course of the tragedy in the church compound. Reverend Ibrahim Kamwara of East Africa Pentacostal Church where the incident occurred said it might have a criminal attack that might ignite religious intolerance in the region. Kamwara asked the congregation not to revenge on anybody asking the government to beef up security in all public gathering to avert disasters. The director of young Muslim Asssociation sheikh Abdi Salam has condemned the incident that has never occurred in worshiping areas. Sheikh Abdi Salam was speaking in idd celebrations where young Muslim association has slaughtered over four thousand goats for the festive. In another incident undetonated bomb was detected at a local petrol station hundred metres away from Kenya defense forces camp. The incident took place same time as the other one but nobody was injured or arrested. Police have opened an investigation, but no arrests have been made. The police are not ruling out that it could have been an attack by the al-Qaida-linked Islamist militant group al-Shabab. Al-Shabab have promised retaliatory attacks to protest Kenya's military operation in Somalia. The bombings came hours after a blast went off along a road in the world's largest refugee camp in eastern Kenya near the border with Somalia. No one was injured in what appeared to be a minor explosion, officials said.