Islamist rebels kill 36 workers in Kenya

Islamist al Shabaab militants killed 36 non-Muslim workers at a quarry in northeast Kenya yesterday, beheading at least two of them in revenge for Kenyan military action against the group in neighbouring Somalia.

The gunmen crept up on dozens of workers sleeping in tents at about 1:00 am, a resident said, in the same area near the Somali border where they hijacked a bus and killed 28 passengers just over a week ago.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has said "we will not flinch" in the war against al-Shabab after the massacre.

"This is a war against Kenya and Kenyans," he said on national TV. "It is a war that every one of us must fight."

He has announced that Kenya's police chief, David Kimayo, is quitting.

Kenyatta's speech came hours after al-Shabab killed the quarry workers in the north-eastern Mandera region, reports BBC.

"The militia separated the Muslims, then ordered the non-Muslims to lie down where they shot them on the head at close range," Hassan Duba, an elder at a nearby village, said.

A witness said at least two of the victims were beheaded in the latest in a string of attacks that are piling pressure on Kenyan President Uhuru over national security, reports Reuters.

As with past attacks, al Shabaab militants said they were punishing Kenya for sending troops to join African peacekeepers battling the Islamists in Somalia. In a statement, it put the death toll at 40 and called the victims "Kenyan crusaders".

"We are uncompromising in our beliefs, relentless in our pursuit, ruthless against the disbelievers and we will do whatever necessary to defend our Muslim brethren suffering from Kenya's aggression," spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage said.

Photos posted on Twitter and other social media websites showed a line of men lying face down on rocky ground.

Critics say the president has not done enough to secure the nation since al Shabaab gunmen attacked Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall last year, killing 67 people.

Western diplomats say Kenya's security services, which receive support from Britain, the United States and others, are hobbled by poor coordination and there has been little sign of reform.

"It makes you curious if there is really an appetite or desire for anything to change," said one diplomat.

Government opponents say the troops in Somalia have not protected Kenya and should be withdrawn.

"They were supposed to create a buffer between our countries and the chaos on the other side. But it has not done that. So we are saying leave," Dennis Onyango, a spokesman for opposition politician and former prime minister Raila Odinga, said.