Christian man burned to death

A Christian man has been killed in Kenya a day after six other Christians were killed in a suspected terror attack in a nearby village.

International Christian Concern (ICC) says the man was murdered by suspected Al Shabaab militants in Bobo-Hindi. Three houses were also set ablaze during the attack.

Police confirmed that John Gichoya was killed and burned inside his home by suspected terrorists, thought to have fled toward the Kenya-Somalia border.

Village elder Josephine Muchemi gave this account of the events to ICC:”At 11:00 p.m., we were called by one of the police officers on night patrol and [he] informed us that there was an attack in Bobo and all the residents should leave their homes. Residents immediately fled their homes and hid in nearby bushes, according to Muchemi.In 2014 the village suffered another attack in which 18 people were beheaded and 15 houses were burned to the ground.

Another eye witness claims to have seen eight armed militants vacating the village after setting homes alight.

“Many of the villagers did not sleep here yesterday because of fear of being attacked,” they said.

“Our village lies off the main road that connects Lamu to Somalia and so the terrorists move easily within the area.”

The incident comes a day after six Christians were killed in the nearby village of Widhu.

Suspected Al Shabaab militants torched seven houses, burning four bodies beyond recognition, shot one person and beheaded another.

Al Shabaab is an Islamic extremist group that seeks to create an Islamic state in Somalia. Due to the support of the Kenyan military, attacks and raids on Christian villages has intensified in recent years and lead to intensified persecution.

Following the first attack a church leader overseeing the Lamu West Africa Inland Churches called on the Kenyan government to do more to protect Christians in the area and bring their perpetrators to justice.

(Reuters)

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