During the siege on Garissa University College, Al-Shabaab attackers taunted their victims before shooting them dead, according to survivor accounts.
Survivors reported playing dead for hours to stay alive, with some smearing the blood of their dead colleagues on themselves to appear lifeless.
Details of the Attack ¶
The official death toll stands at 148, excluding the four terrorists, and includes 142 students, three university guards, and three policemen.
Survivors described the militants as young and fluent in Kiswahili. The attackers allegedly told them,
"You pay taxes to buy guns which we are now using to kill you."
They also claimed to be using guns snatched from Kenyan soldiers.
A survivor, Millicent Murugi from Embu, recounted the attackers' words:
"They told us to stop paying taxes because it is the taxes that the government uses to buy guns for the Kenya Defence Forces."
She also recalled them saying,
"If (President) Kenyatta doesn’t remove Kenyan soldiers from Somalia, they will kill everybody else on sight."
Torment and Survival ¶
The attackers tormented their victims, saying
"Your security agents are cowards and cannot save you."
before shooting them in front of other students.
Ms. Murugi, who is pregnant, survived by smearing blood on herself and playing dead for 10 hours. Another survivor, Quinter Anyango, noted that the attackers were not hooded,
"It is as if they were ready to die."
Aftermath ¶
Some survivors, including Ms. Elosy Karemi, Ms. Irene Kawira, and Ms. Beth Wambui, have been discharged from the hospital.
Christian union members were among the first to be killed, with all 22 members being shot. Muslim students were released, while non-Muslims were asked to prove their conversion to Islam by reciting the Shahada.
The terrorists isolated Muslims from non-Muslims and males from females. Some students claimed to have seen seven attackers, contrary to the government's report of four.
The recovered account cited reporting by Nation.
