Machete Attack At Casino Leaves 7 Dead

An attack on a Kenyan casino by around 100 machete wielding maniacs and gunmen has left seven people dead after police opened fire on the raiders.
The casino is situated 75 miles north of Mombasa, Kenya’s second biggest city, in the popular coastal resort of Malindi on the Indian Ocean. At around 2:00am on Thursday, the Italian-owned Malindi casino then came under attack by members of a separatist group known as the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC), who said they are looking to secede Mombasa and coastal areas from Kenya.
Fortunately, there were security staff  as well as four police officers in place at the casino when the gang attacked, who were then able to keep the marauders at bay until reinforcements could arrive. As regional police chief Aggrey Adoli, explains:
“Six of the attackers were shot dead but they also killed one of our police officers. There was a fierce shoot-out outside the casino, because they wanted to try to get in but they were repulsed..We have a contingent of police officers looking for the attackers, we suspect they are hiding in forests around Malindi.”
Tourism is Kenya’s second biggest industry after horticulture, and brings in billions of dollar in revenue every year for the East African nation. The beautiful coastal town of Malindi is particularly popular with Italian tourists and past visitors have included Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
However, the MRC’s claim on the predominantly Muslim coastal region has turned more violent of late, with at least 12 people killed prior to the March 4th general elections in the country. Consequently, Kenya and its major ally the US, have continued to try and maintain stability in the region, especially given the tentative political situations in nearby Somalia and Sudan.