Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Raila:Kenyan enemies behind Rogo's killings

Raila:Kenyan enemies behind Rogo's killings


Written By:Margaret Kalekye/Reuters,    Posted: Wed, Aug 29, 2012
Kenya's Prime Minister said on Wednesday the country's enemies were behind the killing of a Muslim cleric that triggered riots he described as being conducted by an "underground organisation" to create divisions between Christians and Muslims.
Aboud Rogo, accused by the United States of helping al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants in Somalia, was facing charges in a Kenyan court of possessing weapons when he was shot in his car by unknown attackers in Mombasa on Monday.
His death unleashed two days of riots in which five people, including three police officers were killed.
"We suspect the hand of the enemies of our country in this, those who want to create religious animosity," Prime Minister Raila Odinga told reporters after addressing religious leaders in the city.
"It is an attempt to try create a division between Christians and Muslims in our country so that it appears it is a religious war."
He said Kenya had many enemies, including abroad, after it sent troops into neighbouring Somalia last October to fight Islamist militants.
Asked whether the violent reaction in the streets of Mombasa, which has a big Muslim minority, was organised or just a spontaneous outpouring of anger the prime minister said: "Certainly, that is what it looks like."
"Why deliberately attack churches? That must be part of an organised (reaction). Where did the grenades come from? It confirms our suspicions that there is a serious underground organisation conducting this," he said.
Rioters set fire to at least six churches, stoking fears that the unrest may become more sectarian.

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