During the morning of Tuesday, April 9, suspected al-Shabab members killed a farmer in Bobo, Hindi, a Christian village in Kenya that the Islamic extremist group attacked in 2022.
Later
that afternoon, the militants barricaded a road in the Milihoi area in
Lamu County, a route between Mpeketoni and Hindi they travel often. They
shot two travelers and set several vehicles on fire.
Lamu
West Deputy County Commissioner Gabriel Kioni confirmed the attack and
stated that only one person had died and that two people suffered minor
injuries.
Security
officers responded quickly to the attack and pursued the extremists but
were unable to apprehend them. After additional security officers
arrived, vehicles traveling through Lamu were stopped and inspected.
Some travelers to Hindi and Mokowe chose to detour through Mpeketoni out
of fear of further attacks.
“We
spent the night awake and alert since we know that the terrorists like
attacking during or at the end of the holy month of Ramadan,” an ICC
staffer said.
One
Christian survivor of the attack said the militants forced him to
recite the Shahada, an Islamic statement of faith, to determine if he
was Muslim. After he lied and claimed he did not know the Shahada well
because he had recently converted to Islam, the militants released him.
Al-Shabab
is known to have crossed into Kenya and made people recite the Shahada
to determine if they are Muslim. Those who do not recite it are
considered Christians and are often beaten or killed.
“We
have mobilized our prayer cells to pray that Lamu doesn’t continue to
experience this hatred by the Somalia-based terror group that has
crippled church growth and the economy of the residents of Lamu,” the
ICC staffer said. “We are requesting our brothers and sisters all over
the world to join us in prayer against terrorism and persecution of
believers in Lamu.”
ICC will continue to monitor the situation and release further information as it becomes available.
For interviews, please email press@persecution.org.
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