NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Kenyan clerics across the religious divide say they will not allow sectarian violence to erupt following attacks on churches over the weekend that killed at least 15 people.

The Inter-Religious Council of Kenya said Tuesday that Muslims will form vigilante groups alongside Christians to guard churches in Kenya's North Eastern Province, where the latest attacks occurred.

Adan Wachu, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims and the chairman of Inter-Religious Council, said the weekend attacks, which are being blamed on an al-Qaida-linked militant group from Somalia, are meant to trigger sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims.

Wachu says clerics will actively preach against retaliation to prevent violence from spreading in Kenya like it has in Nigeria, where attacks by a Muslim sect has ignited a spiral of violence.