On April 2nd, nearly 150 people were killed in a massacre in a university in Garissa by Al-Shabaab, a militant group. After shooting and killing two school guards, 5 attackers stormed into the school, specifically targeting Christian students in early morning prayer, before killing themselves. 148 students were found dead by the time the massacre was over. The attack has been pronounced as the worst attack on Kenya since the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy by Al-Qaida. Not only has grief overtaken the country, but many schools now fear another attack.
Since the incident, the Kenyan government has been criticized for having prior knowledge of a potential attack on a school in Garissa, yet failed to send help quickly enough to prevent the deaths of so many students. However, officials are working to track down people affiliated with Al-Shabaab, and freezing the accounts of people suspected of funding the attack financially. So 86 accounts have been frozen, although the Interior Ministry predicts there will be more. Furthermore, on Monday, Kenya launched airstrikes on Al-Shabaab training camps located in Somalia, and has been on the lookout for Mohamed Mohamud, the alleged organizer of the attack.
Do you think that criticism of the Kenyan government is justified in accusing it of doing too little to late? Is the Kenyan government doing enough in the aftermath of the attack? What sort of additional measures should be taken to prevent these tragedies in the future?
2 comments:
I definitely think the criticism you present in the first question is definitely justified. If the Kenyan government did have the knowledge of such an attack potentially happening, I truly believe it should have done something before hand in order to prevent this. The senseless massacre of people's lives, especially students, is something that is absolutely wrong, especially on the basis of religion. What the government is doing now is definitely a step in the right direction, as it permits for the sort of possible future controlling of such violent actions and attempts to enact some degree of punishment on those who helped carry out the attack. It's hard to say what sort of additional measures should be taken in the future, but I think it really centers around being proactive. If the signs of such an attack are lingering in the air, something must be done right in that moment to try to stop it.
I also strongly agree that it is fair to criticize the Kenyan government for not being proactive in attempting to prevent about the school attack if they had prior knowledge surrounding the incident. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the safety of it's people, especially against the ignorant bigotry of terror organizations, so there is no excuse for the inaction of the Kenyan government if the reports are true that they were at least somewhat aware of an imminent attack. What they are currently doing to recover from the attack is obviously what you would expect would happen, as the government is on red alert for another follow up attack and attempting to identify and prosecute those responsible for the crime. In the future the Kenyans should start to prioritize national security more and more, especially with the rise of militant groups in such close proximity.
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