(ETH) – All Christians in three counties in Northeastern Kenya have just been “ordered” to leave immediately by The Somalia-based al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabaab. The reason for this demand is to allow local Muslims to get all local jobs, according to the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern.
“Muslim teachers, doctors, engineers, and young graduates from the northeastern province are unemployed. Isn’t it better to give them a chance? There is no need for the presence of disbelievers,” al-Shabaab’s spokesman, Sheikh Ali Dhere, said in an audio clip posted online, referring to the counties of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera.
According to the 20-minute video clip, the spokesman urged Somali-Kenyans to drive all non-Muslims out if they do not leave on their own. The majority of the people living in the three counties are Somalis, who fled to Kenya due to war and violence in Somalia.
“This is not news at all because the conduct of the local people here has always suggested that they want us to leave,” the Rev. Cosmas Mwinzi of the Assemblies of God in Garissa was quoted as saying. “This region has been unstable for years due to war in Somalia and hatred against non-locals who are mostly Christians. The levels of education and infrastructure in the three counties are low and it is only through the expertise and hard work of the non-locals that the living standard of the Somali people in Kenya can improve. We have non-locals in all sectors, from health to education.” READ MORE
