Death toll rises after Kenya attack
At least 48 people are believed to have been killed in an attack by suspected Islamist militants on local hotels and a police station in a Kenyan coastal town.
The attack happened in Mpeketoni, a town close to the tourist island of Lamu, whose ancient architecture is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
In a four-hour rampage yesterday evening, gunmen flying black Islamist flags opened fire and threw at least one explosive from two hijacked minibuses.
According to reports, they set two local hotels on fire and also targeted a police station and a bank.
Initial reports estimated that around 26 people had been killed but more recent reports from the Kenyan Red Cross have put the figure at nearly double.
The Kenya Tourism Board this morning issued a statement following widespread reporting of the attack.
It said: "Mpeketoni is located approximately 54km south of Lamu Island by road. KTB is able to confirm that Mpeketoni has no international tourist facilities and is not an area frequented by international visitors.
"There were no tourists in the area at the time of the incident and the attack was not on Kenyan hotels. There are no hotels in Mpeketoni, a more accurate description of any accommodation in the Township would be lodging houses.
"Lamu Island, one of Kenya’s primary tourist resorts, is in no way affected by this attack and neither is any other part of the Kenya coast. The majority of visitors travelling to Lamu arrive by air into the local airport.
"All tourist activity continues as normal throughout the country with holiday-makers visiting the country for safari circuits and the popular coastal resorts of Diani, Malindi, Watamu, Kilifi and Lamu."
According to the BBC, the massacre started at 20:30 local time (17:30 GMT) on Sunday as cafes and bars were packed with people watching a football World Cup match on television.
Last week the UK Foreign Office issued a warning to British citizens in Kenya and other East African nations that previous terrorist attacks in the region have targeted places where football matches are being viewed.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for last night’s killings, but Kenya’s National Disaster Operation Centre posted on Twitter that it suspected the Somalia-based armed group al-Shabab was to blame.
Kenya has suffered a number of militant attacks since 2011 when its forces entered neighbouring Somalia to combat al-Shabab fighters.
Last month, hundreds of British tourists and others from around the world were evacuated from beach resorts near Mombasa following new warnings of terror attacks.
Kenya criticised the foreign office warnings, saying they would increase panic and play into the hands of the attackers.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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