A group of heavily-armed gunmen attacked Mpeketoni – close to the tourist island of Lamu – late on Sunday, and a number of eyewitnesses said they singled out non-Muslim men to be executed.
Some 15 people were initially reported killed in a nearby village the following night, although police later corrected the toll to say there were nine dead.
Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab rebels said they carried out the attacks in retaliation for Kenya’s military presence in Somalia as well as the Kenyan government’s “brutal oppression” of Muslims.
READ Somalia’s Shabaab claim Kenya attack
However Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday blamed “local political networks” for the killings, and said the Shabaab were not responsible.
READ Lamu attacks political, not terrorism – Uhuru
About The Author
