Four people have died in riots that erupted in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa after the killing of a popular Muslim cleric.
The unrest began hours after unidentified gunmen shot and killed Sheikh Ibrahim Amor and three associates late Thursday as they traveled in a vehicle near the city.
Witnesses say police fired tear gas and engaged in running battles with Muslim youths Friday in an impoverished neighborhood of Mombasa. Rioters burned tires and set fire to a church.
The Kenyan Red Cross says seven people were hospitalized for injuries.
Sheikh Amor was viewed as a successor to Aboud Rogo Mohammed, who preached at the same mosque in Mombasa and was accused of having links to the Somali militant group al-Shabab.
Riots erupted after Rogo was fatally shot in 2012 on the same road where Amor was killed.
Both the United Nations and the United States had accused Rogo of backing al-Shabab militants.
Security officials had accused Sheikh Amor of radicalizing youths into terrorism but police have denied killing him.
Tensions have been high in Kenya since al-Shabab militants stormed a Nairobi mall earlier this month. The attack and subsequent siege by the military left 72 people dead, including five of the gunmen.
The unrest began hours after unidentified gunmen shot and killed Sheikh Ibrahim Amor and three associates late Thursday as they traveled in a vehicle near the city.
Witnesses say police fired tear gas and engaged in running battles with Muslim youths Friday in an impoverished neighborhood of Mombasa. Rioters burned tires and set fire to a church.
The Kenyan Red Cross says seven people were hospitalized for injuries.
Sheikh Amor was viewed as a successor to Aboud Rogo Mohammed, who preached at the same mosque in Mombasa and was accused of having links to the Somali militant group al-Shabab.
Riots erupted after Rogo was fatally shot in 2012 on the same road where Amor was killed.
Both the United Nations and the United States had accused Rogo of backing al-Shabab militants.
Security officials had accused Sheikh Amor of radicalizing youths into terrorism but police have denied killing him.
Tensions have been high in Kenya since al-Shabab militants stormed a Nairobi mall earlier this month. The attack and subsequent siege by the military left 72 people dead, including five of the gunmen.