Garissa massacre

Not to be confused with Garissa University College attack.

The Garissa massacre was a 1980 massacre of ethnic Somali residents by the Kenyan government in the Garissa District of the North Eastern Province, Kenya. The incident occurred when Kenyan government forces, acting on the premise of flushing out a local gangster known as Abdi Madobe, set fire to a residential village called Bulla Kartasi, killing people and raping women. They then forcefully interned the populace at Garissa Primary School football pitch for three days without water or food, resulting in over 3000 deaths. Residents apart from Somalis were given permission to leave the school pitch unharmed. The government of Somalia, then led by the Supreme Revolutionary Council, intervened by threatening that if such brutalities did not cease, the Somali military would overthrow the Nairobi regime and occupy the country. Consequently, the Kenyan government lifted the curfew and released the detained individuals unconditionally.