Africa › Kenya 30.11.2015

Three injured as Kenya university security drill sparks panic

By AFP

A Red Cross spokeswoman said three students were injured November 30, 2015 at Nairobi's Strathmore University when sounds of gunfire during a security drill sparked a panic. By John Muchucha (AFP)

Nairobi (AFP) - Three Kenyan students were injured Monday as they fled after hearing gunshots fired during a security drill, thinking it was a real attack, the Red Cross said.

Kenya Red Cross spokeswoman Anolda Shiundu said there were three "casualties from the drill, one of them critical."

Police said it was just a security exercise, but images showed terrified students standing on window ledges at Strathmore University, close the centre of the capital Nairobi.

Kenya has seen several attacks launched by Al-Qaeda-linked and Somali-led Shebab insurgents in recent years.

They include an April massacre at Garissa university in which 148 people were killed, and a 2013 assault on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall that killed 67.