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Kenyans killed in riot over Islamic cleric's arrest; Obama silent

While President Barack Obama took charge of the U.S. response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, he appears oblivious to the violence and death occurring in his ancestral home and current residence of his family, reports Law Enforcement Examiner.

According to an intelligence source, at least seven Kenyans were killed and more than 30 injured on Friday afternoon [Kenya time] when police attempted to disband a protest march by Kenyan Muslims against the arrest and deportation of a radical Islamic cleric.

The protest march in support of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Faisal turned violent when the demonstrators bombarded police officers with rocks. The officer responded by firing their weapons into the air and tossing tear gas canisters at the protestors.

Several bystanders and police officers were seriously injured in the protest-turned-riot with some of the victims being repeatedly stabbed by the protestors.

Shops located in the vicinity of the cleric's mosque were looted by protestors who also vandalized parked vehicles by smashing windshields with rocks.

In the midst of the violence, angry members of the public joined in the melee and helped police to confront the advancing Muslim youths.

Farouk Machanje, co-chair of the Muslim Human Rights Forum which organized the demonstration claimed those mortally wounded were all killed by bullet wounds.

The civil unrest began when hundreds of Muslims attending Friday prayers at the Nairobi Mosque defied police orders and went ahead with the planned march.

The Muslims claimed they notified the government of their intention to stage demonstrations in major towns on Friday to press for the release of the cleric -- a native of Jamaica -- whom Kenyan police arrested after Nigerian authorities refused to allow him to enter their country.

Kenyan government officials stated they moved to arrest Al-Faisal because of his propensity for making radical statements and his connections with convicted terrorists. They stated his radicalism made him a threat to Kenya's security.

Some of the protesters were chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) and others displayed what was thought to be the flag of Somali rebel group al Shabaab.

The Jamaican preacher was deported from Nairobi on Thursday following orders by the Kenyan Immigration Minister. Al-Faisal, born Trevor William Forrest, was convicted in Britain on terrorism-related charges in 2003 and deported upon release in 2007.

Upon his arrival on the Caribbean island of Jamaica, the Islamic Council of Jamaica banned him from preaching in its mosques due to his radicalism.

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TAGS: Kenya President Barack Obama Sheikh Abdullah Al-Faisal riot Shabaab radicalism

[01/18/2010]

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