Al-Shabab, the Somali armed group that carried out a deadly attack on a Kenyan university killing 148 people on Thursday, has threatened to stage more attacks in the country.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the group warned Kenyans that their cities will “run red with blood”.
“No amount of precaution or safety measures will be able to guarantee your safety, thwart another attack or prevent another bloodbath from occurring in your cities,” the statement read.
Four al-Shabab fighters stormed the Garissa University College campus in what appeared to be an extensively planned out attack, which the group says was to avenge Kenya’s involvement in Somalia.
Kenya’s interior ministry said the dead included 142 students, three policemen and three soldiers.
The ministry said on Saturday that five men – suspected accomplices – were arrested in connection with the attack.
Surviving students have been taken to a military camp, waiting to be bussed home as the university has been indefinitely closed.
Christine Onyongo, one of the survivors, told Al Jazeera that she had heard the attackers threatening female students that they would be burnt. Women were then let out, holding their hands up.
She said the men were treated more harshly, “especially those who were arguing”.
“They were just slaughtering them,” she said..
Like many other students, Onyongo said she would not come back to Garissa.
“After what I saw, not me – I can’t come back.”
