A Maltese priest in a Kenyan region targeted previously by Islamist militants has faith that the security forces will keep order in the wake of the deadly terrorist attack in Nairobi.
Mgr Joseph Alessandro is Coadjutor Bishop of Garissa, a district some 400km from Nairobi, which was the scene of lethal assaults on churches last year.
He said the Government had provided armed police officers to guard all 36 churches in the Garissa diocese for the past 18 months.
“We feel secure. There are roadblocks in our area but the impression is that it is very much controlled now,” Mgr Alessandro said.
The gun and grenade attack on Nairobi’s Westgate mall began on Saturday. By yesterday, with at least 62 people dead, the Government said it had complete control of the building.
Al Shabaab, an Islamist group fighting for control of neighbouring Somalia, claimed responsibility for the attack in retaliation for Kenyan troops’ efforts to eradicate them across the border.
“It was a complete surprise – no one expected an attack. What happened in Nairobi has shocked us all,” Mgr Alessandro told Times of Malta by telephone.
He added that last Sunday it was still not known who was responsible for the attack,so his parishioners were not afraid to visit Garissa’s churches.
“Now that al Shabaab has claimed the responsibility I presume that security will be beefed up in our diocese, which spreads along the border with Somalia.”
Garissa, whose bishop is Paul Darmanin, another Franciscan Capuchin from Malta, has been targeted by al Shabaab militants before. On July 1, 2012, masked gunmen attacked two churches in the diocese, killing 17 people and injuring 50.
Three people were killed in two grenade attacks in January and a further six died when gunmen opened fire on a police post in the district in April. All the attacks were blamed on al Shabaab.
Garissa town is located on the main road to Somalia and the population is made up primarily of Somalis or Somali-related clans.
“The majority of the local people are Muslims. We have good relations with them,” Mgr Alessandro said.
“Even in our schools there are Muslim children together with Christian children and we don’t have many problems, although sometimes people from outside [the district] cause trouble,” he said, adding that he did not expect community unrest to erupt in the wake of the attacks.
“We, as the Catholic Church, urge all Ken-yans, independently of their religious denomination, to remain united against terrorism, and to pray for the victims, their relatives, and for peace in Kenya,” Mgr Alessandro added.
pcooke@timesofmalta.com