13 killed as gunmen attack Kenya’s Lamu district
Shooting has been reported in Kenya’s coastal district of Lamu, the scene of several attacks claimed by Islamic militants this year.
The BBC’s Dennis Okari in Nairobi says houses have been set alight in Hindi, near Mpeketoni, and a police station has been attacked at Gamba.
The Kenyan Red Cross said 13 people had been killed in the two incidents.
The Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre said on Twitter that police were responding to the incidents.
It is not clear who is responsible for the shooting, but the Somali militant Islamist group al-Shabab has mounted a number of attacks in the region.
The Red Cross said it had sent emergency teams to the area. It later reported on Twitter that four people had been killed in Hindi and nine in Gamba.
Attacks in the Lamu area early last month killed at least 60 people, as gunmen descended on hotels and a police station.
Five people died in a later attack by an armed gang on the village of Witu, about 15km (9 miles) from Mpeketoni.
The following day authorities said they had arrested 13 alleged separatists accused of planning more attacks on the coast.
The area includes Lamu island, a well-known tourist resort, however, the attacks happened on the mainland, in Lamu County.
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has blamed the attacks on political networks, despite al-Shabab claiming responsibility.
Opposition parties have dismissed the president’s claims.
Source : BBC
