Second foreign tourist shot dead in Mombasa

Jul 24, 2014

A foreign female tourist was shot dead in Kenya's port city of Mombasa on Thursday, the second such killing there this month, police said

A foreign female tourist was shot dead in Kenya's port city of Mombasa on Thursday, the second such killing there this month, police said.

"We are pursuing the killers who have shot the tourist," Mombasa police chief Robert Kitur said. No details of her nationality were given.

The shooting took place close to where a female Russian tourist was killed on July 6, also by unknown gunmen. Police blamed that attack on "normal thuggery".

"We are yet to establish if there is anything stolen from her," Kitur added.

No one has claimed responsibility for the shooting.

Mombasa has been the scene of worsening unrest in recent months with a string of shootings and bombings blamed on Somalia's Shabaab rebels or local supporters.

Last month the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab, which has carried out a number of attacks on Kenyan soil in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia, warned foreign tourists to stay out of Kenya.

"Kenya is now officially a war zone and as such any tourists visiting the country do so at their own peril," the group said in a statement in June.

It has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast in recent weeks.

Kenya also suffers from high levels of violent crime and robberies.

The Russian tourist killed on July 6 was shot while touring Fort Jesus, a 16th century Portuguese-built fort and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Three gunmen opened fire and grabbed a bag containing cameras, phones and other personal belongings.

In May several countries stepped up their warnings to travellers, with Britain, France, Australia and the United States telling their citizens to avoid all but essential travel to Mombasa.

The unrest has already provoked scores of cancellations for the tourist industry -- a key foreign currency earner and massive employer for the country -- at one of its traditionally busiest times of the year.

AFP

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