Religious Conflict Rising in Kenya
By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
NAIROBI, KENYA (Worthy News)– Religious violence is on the rise in Kenya following a series of explosions in Nairobi’s predominately Somali neighborhood.
In the latest attack, a male attacker disguised in a shawl threw an explosive device into a minibus, blowing it apart.
In retaliation to the bus bombing, youths armed with machetes and stones sought out Somalis, accusing them of carrying out the Sunday bombing of a minibus that killed 10 and injured 30.
“The terrorist’s intention is to cause friction between Christians and Muslims,” said Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.
Scores have been injured in retaliatory violence that has focused in the suburb known as “little Mogadishu” where refugees have fled the prolonged conflict in Somalia.
“This is very bad — to isolate the Somalis and target them because of the blast is very deadly,” said Rev. Wellington Mutiso, secretary of the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya. “If we don’t arrest it, it may backfire into a religious war.”
Many Kenyans are suspicious of the Somalis and have accused the refugee community of shielding al-Shabab, the militant Islamist group who threatened to attack Kenya after it sent troops into Somalia last year.