The siege ended nearly 15 hours after the Somali group's gunmen shot their way into the University in a pre-dawn attack, sparing Muslim students and taking many Christians hostage.

Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said four gunmen strapped with explosives were behind the attack, the same number that killed 67 people during the 2013 bloodbath at a shopping mall in Nairobi.

Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett said the attackers had "shot indiscriminately" when they entered the university compound.

Police and soldiers surrounded the campus and exchanged gunfire with the attackers throughout the day but were repeatedly repelled.

At least 79 people were injured and many airlifted to Nairobi.

Early last evening, Boinett declared a two-week curfew, starting today, in Tana River, Wajir, Garissa and Mandera, a vast swathe of territory.

The gunmen are said to have avoided the mosque where some student were praying and sought non-Muslim students in the halls of residence, some of whom were still asleep.

Initial reports indicated that the gunmen, suspected to be members of the al Shabaab terror gang, stormed the college, killing 15 people and injuring 65 who were rushed to Garissa Hospital.

According to students who escaped the 5.30am massacre, the masked gunmen, who wore jungle fatigues, were dropped by two Toyota Probox cars at the university’s main gate.

The gunmen then confronted and shot two security guards manning the gate before proceeding to the students’ hostels and a lecture room where Christian Union members were holding morning fellowship. The killers indiscriminately shot at anyone on sight before police officers engaged them.

The students who were asleep said that they woken up by the sound of heavy gunfire. Those of them who were bathing or just waking up and were naked scrambled out of the hostels and scaled the perimeter fence and escaped to Garissa town on foot.

The gunmen entered the hostels and checked in the rooms to find students who were shot if they were not Muslims.
Those who did not manage to scale the perimeter wall were shot dead by the gunmen. The escapees sought refuge at the Garissa military camp and police station.

Nkaiserry said that the gunmen stormed the institution’s gate through the mosque.

The university has 815 students and 60 members of staff and the security agents managed to rescue and all the members of staff out of the hostels.

AMREF and the Kenya Red Cross airlifted seriously injured student to Nairobi for specialised treatment.

Nkaissery also announced that the dead will be airlifted to Nairobi for proper preservation because the mortuary in Garissa cannot accommodate the numbers.

He said that a security operation centre to coordinate operation has been set up with the intention of bring the siege to a quick end.