Relatives of the victims of the Garissa University attack talk of 'studious and ambitious' students who were there to help their families.
ADVERTISEMENTRelatives of the 148 victims who died in the al-Shabaab attack on a Kenyan University have been identifying the dead. Afterwards several described the young students as humble and studious.
All had been trying to forge careers not only for themselves but for their families too.
Phylis Wakube was the aunt of one of the victims:
“He (God) has chosen my niece. I always used to comfort her and encourage her about school. She also has siblings behind who were actually depending, you know, counting on her. If she would succeed they would also do well.”
They loved and were loved. Dreamed and were their parents' dreams. Just heartbreaking. #147notjustanumberhttp://t.co/X2oauUWrNc
— Solome Lemma (@InnovateAfrica) April 6, 2015
In Kenya’s first major military response since the attacks its air force said it had destroyed two al-Shabaab camps in neighbouring Somalia.
Al-Shabaab has denied the camps were hit, saying the air force bombs fell on farm land.
Security has been stepped up, particularly at Garissa University where Thursday’s attack happened.
With it emerging that one of the four gunmen was the son of a government official, President Uhuru Kenyatta admitted Islamist sympathsiers are deeply embedded within Kenyan society and urged the Muslim community to do more to root out radicalisation.
Al-Shaabab said it carried out the attack as revenge for the activities of Kenyan military who are part of a joint African Union Force battling against the Islamist militants.
The group has killed more than 400 people on Kenyan soil in the last two years, including 67 during a siege at Nairobi’s Westgate mall in 2013.