Kenyans, awaiting Obama, angered by CNN report

NAIROBI , Kenya, July 23 (UPI) -- Kenya's Interior Minister demanded an apology from CNN after the U.S. news channel referred to East Africa as a "hotbed of terror."

President Barack Obama will make a two-day trip to Kenya and Ethiopia beginning Friday. CNN's comment came during an internationally-televised report on al-Shabaab, the Somalia militant group with links to al-Qaida, which has conducted attacks on Kenyan territory; its most deadly was a day-long attack on Garissa University in April, in which 148 people were killed.

The CNN report, headlined "Security fears as Obama heads to terror hotbed," quoted an analyst who noted a recent increase on attacks against al-Shabab in Somalia "send a very clear message to al-Shabaab not to try to attempt anything against the president."

Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said CNN could apologize "if it was civilized enough," adding Kenya was at risk of attack, as is any other country, but it does not make Kenya a hotbed of terror.

"I urge Kenyans to treat the @CNN report with the contempt it deserves," Nkaissery said on social media. Numerous responses by Kenyan social media users concurred with his sentiment.