ATTACK ON REMOTE BEACH RESORT LEAVES ONE BRIT DEAD AND ONE ABDUCTED
A small resort on the Indian Ocean beaches some 30 miles north of Lamu was attacked earlier today, according to reports emerging from reliable sources in Nairobi. Information is sketchy right now but it appears that the British High Commission has confirmed the death of a British citizen while the wife has reportedly been abducted.
Attacks on tourists in Kenya are very rare and the countrys security apparatus, already on high alert on the anniversary of 9 / 11 today, swung into action immediately to establish where the attackers had come from and which way they had taken the hostage. It is understood that an aerial surveillance mission is already underway, aiming to track the attackers.
There is already growing indication from a range of regular sources in Kenya that the attackers could have been either Somali pirates, aka ocean terrorists or else Al Shabab militants seeking to spread their action radius beyond the border of Somalia into neighbouring Kenya to arguably prompt a direct response from the Kenyan armed forces and widen the conflict which has been raging on for years.
One regular source with close links to the Kenya Tourist Board had this to say, on condition of anonymity: This is the first incident of its kind in Kenya along our beaches. Violence against tourists is rare in Kenya. Our security forces are treating this regrettable incident with the highest priority and the attackers are already being pursued, on land and from the air as far as I understand. Security along all beach resorts, especially such remotely located beach camps, is being stepped up already and will undergo further review in coming days, to prevent such an attack from happening again.
Watch this space for updates as and when additional information is available.
Update 1)
Location now confirmed as Kiwayu Safari Village, which comprises 18 beach cottages and is popular with local expatriates as well as tourists seeking solitude and the privacy of a very remote location.
