Kenya vote sees long lines; attacks kill 12
By The Associated Press
This article was published March 4, 2013 at 8:20 a.m.
NAIROBI, Kenya — Multiple attacks against security forces in Kenya on Monday killed at least 12 people as Kenyans waited in long lines to cast ballots five years after more than 1,000 people died in election-related violence.
A group of 200 secessionists armed with guns, machetes and bows and arrows set a trap for police in the predawn hours, killing five officers, Inspector General David Kimaiyo said. One attacker also died. The group, the Mombasa Republican Council, had threatened election day attacks.
A second attack by Mombasa Republican Council secessionists in nearby Kilifi killed one police officer and five attackers, Kimaiyo said. A Kilifi police official, Clemence Wangai, said seven people died in that assault, including an election official.
The country’s top two presidential candidates condemned the attacks.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga called it a “heinous act of aggression” during a historic exercise. Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta said he was discouraged by the news but he was sure the security situation would be brought under control.
Authorities flew in an additional 400 police officers to Mombasa to increase security. The U.N. restricted the movement of its staff on the coast because of the violence
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