Kenya attack survivor says gunmen had scouted the campus

The Islamic extremists who slaughtered 148 people at a college in northeast Kenya as they shouted "God is great" appeared to have planned extensively, even targeting a site where Christians had gone to pray, survivors said today.
In the capital of Nairobi, relatives of the victims went to a morgue where some bodies had been airlifted from the campus of Garissa University College in eastern Kenya.
Screaming and crying family members were assisted by Red Cross staffers, who tried to console them.
The attack was the worst in Kenya since the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy by al-Qaida that killed more than 200 people.

Yesterday's assault in Garissa was carried out by militants of the Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab. The organization has struck the country several times in recent years, but this attack was the deadliest.
Some Kenyans were angry that the government didn't take sufficient security precautions. The attack came six days after Britain advised "against all but essential travel" to parts of Kenya, including Garissa.

One day before the attack, President Uhuru Kenyatta dismissed the warning as well as an Australian one pertaining to Nairobi and Mombasa, saying: "Kenya is safe as any country in the world. The travel advisories being issued by our friends are not genuine."

Kenyatta would have been mindful that previous travel warnings, like for popular Kenyan beach areas, have hurt the country's tourism industry.
One man posted a photo on Twitter showing about 100 bodies lying face-down on a blood-smeared courtyard with the comment: "Our inaction is betrayal to these Garissa victims" Babu Owino, the chairman of the Students Organization for Nairobi University, said the government's behavior shows it is not serious in fighting extremist attacks.
John Njue, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Nairobi, who celebrated Good Friday services, cited the "murdered" students and said, "This is a tremendous challenge in our country." Pope Francis on Friday condemned the attack as an act of "senseless brutality" and called for those responsible to change their violent ways.

In a telegram of condolence, Francis also urged Kenyan authorities to work to bring an end to such attacks and "hasten the dawn of a new era of brotherhood, justice and peace.