US pledges to help Kenya fight Al-Shabaab as AI accuses Uhuru of failing Kenyans

US President Barack Obama. The White House on April 2, 2015 pledged to help Kenya fight Al-Shabaab following an attack on Garissa University College that left 147 students dead. FILE PHOTO | AFP 

By KEVIN J KELLEY

In Summary

• White House Press Secretary Josh  Earnest on Thursday said in a statement that the US "condemns in the strongest terms" the massacre claimed by the Somalia militant group.
• US has in the past launched missile strikes against Al-Shabaab targets in Somalia, killing some of the group's leading operatives.
• Meanwhile rights defender Amnesty International has accused the Kenyatta government of failing to respond adequately to the expressed fears of a terrorist attack in northeast Kenya.

The United States will help Kenya "take on the terrorist group Al-Shabaab," President Obama's spokesman has said following the attack on Garissa University College.

White House Press Secretary Josh  Earnest on Thursday said in a statement that the US "condemns in the strongest terms" the massacre claimed by the Somalia militant group.

"We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of all those killed in this heinous attack, which reportedly included the targeting of Christian students," the White House statement read in part.

"The United States is providing assistance to the Kenyan government,  and we will continue to partner with them as well as with others in the region to take on the terrorist group Al-Shabaab."

"The United States stands with the people of Kenya, who will not be intimidated by such cowardly attacks," Mr Obama's spokesman declared.

The statement did not specify the action US would take against the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists.

But the US has in the past launched missile strikes against Al-Shabaab targets in Somalia, killing some of the group's leading operatives.

READ: US drone strikes Shabaab base in Mogadishu

Meanwhile, rights defender Amnesty International has accused the Kenyatta government of failing to respond adequately to the expressed fears of a terrorist attack in northeast Kenya.

“Citizens and public servants in the north have repeatedly expressed fears about their vulnerability to Al-Shabaab attacks, which the Kenyan government has failed to appropriately address,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty’s East Africa regional director.

“It is the government’s responsibility to guarantee the security of all its citizens, including those in the north, and to do everything legally in their power to prevent such attacks from taking place at all,” Ms Wanyeki added.

She urged Kenyan authorities to “to act decisively and within the Constitution and the law to ensure protection for those under or at risk of attack in Garissa and other areas of the north.”