Kenya riots rage a day after killing of radical cleric
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/World/Kenya+riots+rage+a+day+after+killing+of+radical+cleric/-/688340/1488810/-/ln7m75/-/index.html
Rioters
clashed with police in Kenya's
port city of Mombasa
for a second day Tuesday, after the killing of an extremist cleric linked to
Al-Qaeda-allied militants, witnesses said.
Hundreds
of angry youths throwing stones, damaging cars and chanting slogans in support
of slain preacher Aboud Rogo Mohammed moved towards the centre of Mombasa, a popular
tourist city, an AFP reporter said.
"The
riots have started again," said Khalid Hussein of Muslims for Human
Rights, a local organisation. Staff in Mombasa's
main hospital reported that at least 14 people had been injured in the clashes.
Somalia's
Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab militants meanwhile called on Kenyan Muslims to
"take all necessary measures" to protect their religion.
"Muslims
must take the matter into their own hands, stand united against the kuffar
(unbelievers) and take all necessary measures to protect their religion, their
honour, their property and their lives from the enemies of Islam," the
Shebab said in a statement.
The
cleric, who was shot dead on Monday by "unknown people", according to
the police, was on US and UN sanctions lists for allegedly supporting the
Shebab, including through recruitment and fundraising.
He
was driving with his wife and children when gunmen opened fire on his vehicle,
leaving it riddled with bullets. Images released by his supporters showed his
bloody corpse slumped behind the wheel.
Shortly
after his death furious protests erupted, with one person hacked to death, cars
torched, business attacked and five churches looted or set on fire.
Despite
the eruption of fresh clashes Tuesday, regional police chief Aggrey Adoli said
on the protests were under control.
"A
group of youth has been throwing stones here and there, but our officers are
there to contain the situation," Adoli said.
The
cleric -- popularly known as Rogo -- was the spiritual leader of the Muslim
Youth Center (MYC), a group viewed as a close ally of the extremist Shebab.
The
Islamist MYC blamed the authorities for the preacher's murder, but police have
dismissed the claim and say they are hunting the killers.
"Our
beloved Sheikh Aboud Rogo... was murdered by the kuffar (unbelievers) as part of
Kenya's
policy of extra-judicial killings against prominent Muslim activists," the
MYC said Tuesday in a statement.
Rogo
was placed on a US sanctions
list in July for "engaging in acts that directly or indirectly threaten
the peace, security or stability of Somalia", specifically for
recruiting and fundraising for the hardline Shebab.
The
United Nations Security Council placed a travel ban and asset freeze on him in
July, saying he had provided "financial, material, logistical or technical
support to Al-Shebab".
The
MYC condemned the killing as an "act of barbarity", and warned that
they "hold the Kenyan authorities responsible for this targeted
assassination."
Police
on Tuesday appealed to the public for information on Rogo's killing.
"Investigations
are going on to get people who committed the murder," said regional police
chief Adoli. "We have not made any arrest so far, but our officers are out
looking for them."
Kenyan
Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Monday condemned Rogo's "horrific"
murder, adding the government was "committed to bringing whoever was
responsible to justice".
Rogo
had been accused by the UN of using the MYC group as "a pathway for
radicalisation and recruitment of principally Swahili-speaking Africans for
carrying out violent militant activity in Somalia".
He
"repeatedly called for the violent rejection of the Somali peace
process", the US Treasury said, noting he had often advocated the use of
violence against both the UN and the African Union force battling the Shebab in
Somalia.
The
cleric is also alleged to have introduced Fazul Abdullah Mohammed -- the late
head of Al-Qaeda's east Africa cell, shot dead last year in Somalia's war-torn capital Mogadishu -- to at least one of the men who
helped him carry out the twin US embassy bombings in 1998.
Two policemen feared dead in Kisauni grenade attack
By NATION Reporter
Posted Tuesday, August 28 2012 at 16:43
Sixteen other officers were rushed to hospital after suffering injuries during the latest incident at Mwandoni Tuesday.
Earlier, the youth had set the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) Kisauni on fire and vandalised the parish minister's house.
The unruly mob stole, among other things, at least 100 bibles.
Twelve people were arrested in Mombasa during the confrontation between police and rowdy youth.
Ten were bundled into a police van at Majengo area while two others were taken into custody near Msikiti Musa in the restive town.
Tension in Mombasa as Al-Shabaab suspect Rogo killed
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/1487982/-/y9mumkz/-/index.html
By Nation Reporter
Posted Monday, August 27 2012 at 12:38
Deadly riots broke out in Kenya's
main port of Mombasa
on Monday after the assassination of a radical cleric linked to Somalia's
Al-Qaeda-allied Shebab militants.Posted Monday, August 27 2012 at 12:38
At least one person was hacked to death as thousands of angry protestors took to the streets after Aboud Rogo Mohammed -- who was on US and UN sanction lists for allegedly supporting the Shebab -- was shot dead.
"A car behind us aimed at my husband, they shot him on the right side," said his widow Haniya Said, screaming in grief after the killing by unknown attackers.
"One person has been killed, he was slashed to death during the protests," said regional police chief Aggrey Adoli.
Cars were set on fire and two churches were looted in the city -- Kenya's main port and a key tourist hub -- according to an AFP reporter.
"There is chaos in town now, and our officers are on the ground dispersing the rioters to maintain peace," added Adoli. "They are demonstrating against the killing of Aboud Rogo, who was shot by unknown people."
Witnesses said that Mohammed's car was riddled with bullets, and a photograph released by his supporters showed his bloody corpse slumped behind the wheel of a car.
"He died as we rushed him to hospital. Why have they killed my dear husband?" his widow added, before she and her children were taken to the hospital.
Mohammed was placed on a US sanctions list in July for "engaging in acts that directly or indirectly threaten the peace, security or stability of Somalia", specifically for recruiting and fundraising for the hardline Shebab.
The United Nations Security Council placed a travel ban and asset freeze on the cleric in July, saying he had provided "financial, material, logistical or technical support to Al-Shebab".
He was the "main ideological leader" of Kenya's Al Hijra group, also known as the Muslim Youth Center (MYC), the UN said. The group is viewed as a close ally of the Shebab in Kenya.
Mohammed "used the extremist group as a pathway for radicalisation and recruitment of principally Swahili-speaking Africans for carrying out violent militant activity in Somalia", the UN said.
MYC leader Sheikh Ahmad Iman Ali, in a message posted on Twitter, said: "We are on the right track when our leaders get shahadah (martyrdom)."
"He will remain in our hearts forever," the MYC added, while another message offered the grim warning that the "kuffar (infidels) will pay" for his death.
"The whole city is on fire, there are looters in the streets, cars have been damaged, some have been burnt," said Francis Auma, from the local organisation Muslims for Human Rights.
"An imam in the mosque shouted through the speaker 'blood for blood', and immediately youths started stoning cars," said witness Dennis Odhiambo, whose car was damaged and who was forced to flee into a police station for safety.
The local Muslim Human Rights Forum condemned Mohammed's assassination, claiming it "mirrors" the recent killings or disappearance of others "on the country's terrorism watch list".
Mohammed "repeatedly called for the violent rejection of the Somali peace process", the US Treasury said, noting he had often advocated the use of violence against both the UN and the African Union force battling the Shebab in Somalia.
