Attacks Won't Divide Kenyans: President

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said Thursday that terrorist attacks would not divide Kenyans, amid criticism of the government's ongoing security operation, which has seen thousands of people rounded up.



"This nation will not be divided by the atrocities of fools and murderers," Kenyatta said at a graduation ceremony for more than 3000 policemen.



Following a recent spate of attacks in Nairobi and the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenyan authorities launched a wide-ranging operation ostensibly aimed at restoring public security.



The operation has seen thousands of people detained for screening, mostly thought to be Muslims from Nairobi's Eastleigh district, which is home to an estimated 50,000 Somali refugees.



The crackdown has been met with criticism by local Muslim clerics, political leaders and human rights activists, who say it discriminates against Muslims and people of Somali origin.



"It is well known that some of our neighbors have fallen over the years into civil conflicts; their troubles did not stay home," said President Kenyatta, referring to Somalia and Somalis.



"They crossed borders and became our problems as well," he added.



Earlier Thursday, Kenyan authorities deported 91 more illegal Somali immigrants.



Police say they plan to deport as many as 225 illegal immigrants, including 214 Somalis, six Ethiopians, two Ugandans, a Tanzanian, a Cameroonian and a South Sudanese national.



On April 9, Kenya deported 82 illegal immigrants from Somalia back to the war torn Horn of Africa country after they were arrested in the ongoing security crackdown.



"The violent extremism we saw at the Westgate continues to claim the lives of many innocent Kenyans," Kenyatta said, referring to last September's deadly attack on a Nairobi mall, which was later claimed by Somali militant group Al-Shabaab.



"Though it [Al-Shabaab] pretends to be religiously motivated, we all know that it is little more than criminal viciousness – and we shall treat it as such," he added. "We as a government will resist the temptation to fight a war of religion or ethnicity."



Deputy President William Ruto likewise insisted that the government would not back down.



"We are ready to ensure that every terrorist is subdued," he said. "Criminals will be made to account for their crimes before the law of our land."



-Record Graduates-



By the end of April, Kenyan would have graduated a record number of police cadets, with Thursday alone seeing the graduation of 3221 new officers.



Some 2209 officers already graduated from the Kenya Police Service at the Kiganjo Center on April 7.



According to Police Inspector General David Kimaiyo, one week from today, 1780 police officers will graduate from the General Service Unit Training School in Embakasi.



This will bring to 7210 the total number of officers added to Kenya's police apparatus in April alone, representing more than 10 percent growth in the number of the country's police officers.



Additional reporting by Magdalene Mukami



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