Kenya: Violent Blast In Downtown NairobiI
By MISNA
“The TV reports various wounded, though also casualties are feared”, a missionary source told MISNA from the capital Nairobi, where an explosion hit a downtown building. The blast occurred shortly after 1:00p.m local time at an exhibition centre on Moi Street, not far from the Mount Kenya University.
“The area, in downtown Nairobi, is always busy at that time, also because Moi Street takes to the train station”, explained the missionaries, adding that “the Kenyan state TV is airing footage of high columns of smoke and rubble from the scene”.
The violence of the blast was felt in nearby building and TV footage shows residents fleeing the area, completely enveloped in smoke.
The explosion in fact caused a fire that fire-fighters, who rushed to the scene, are attempting to extinguish. Numerous ambulances can also be heard rushing to the scene, according to witnesses. The cause of the blast is unclear, including whether it was a terrorist attack. It is feared that it was an attack by Somali al Shabab insurgents, already responsible for a series of attack in the country and who threatened “retaliation” for the intervention of Kenyan troops in Somalia.
