On Saturday, terrorists attacked Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced Tuesday that the four-day attack was over. As of Wednesday, at least 72 have been confirmed dead.
Staff writer Kate Grise spoke with Bereket Selassie, a UNC professor of African studies, about the attacks and potential repercussions for the region and the United States.
View From The Hill: Can you give me a run down of what happened in Nairobi, Kenya over the past few days?
Bereket Selassie: (Westgate) is a very popular mall. It is new, but it is where many middle class people gather to have coffee, to meet as family and friends and so on. So from the point of view of the terrorist, it was a well-chosen place for maximum damage, as they imagined.
Apparently, (in addition to the civilian deaths) there have also been deaths among the security people who were sent to rescue the victims — the hostages — so it is evolving.
We don’t know the exact details, but President Uhuru Kenyatta made a speech yesterday in which he said the attack is over. He made a very emotional statement about how sad and tragic this event was, but that he assured the international community and the people of his nation that the terrorists will not prevail and that they will continue to fight against terrorism.
VFTH: Can you tell me more about the group responsible for the attacks, al-Shabaab?
BS: The word ‘shabaab’ means youth in Arabic. They are mostly under 30, some even in their late teenage years. These are people who are connected to al-Qaeda, and they have been beaten back to one remote area by the new government of Somalia.
The president of Somalia came to give a speech at the United Nations … (and said) he’s quite confident that they will be defeated.
(Al-Shabaab’s) control of the land has shrunk from three quarters of the region to one quarter. Their defeat militarily means that their target will be civilian attacks, as happened in Nairobi.
VFTH: Is there a history of violence in Kenya?
There were attacks by Islamists about 10 years ago. There was a bombing of Hotel Narobi in Tanzania in 1998.
Al-Qaeda was not a known asset at the time, but the people who were involved in (those previous attacks) belonged to an extremist group which would eventually become al-Qaeda.
VFTH: Should the United States be concerned, as Obama seems to say, that the attacks are a sign of continuing terrorist threats?
BS: Yes. Absolutely, we should all be concerned.
The defeat of the al-Shabaab in Somalia will mean that there will be attacks elsewhere. Not as big or large as in Nairobi.
What happened, apparently, is that they opened a shop in the mall and gradually over weeks and months brought their hardware and ammunitions there … to carry out their task.
These are dedicated, fanatical, and in military terms, capable and skilled people, and they are prepared to die. Which makes them dangerous.
VFTH: Does this event open up any questions about whether or not Kenya is as stable as it seems to most Americans?
BS: No. The Kenyan economy, despite this setback, is still the largest economy in east Africa.
It may affect the opening of the Somali markets by a couple of weeks, but not long term.
It is tragic, people have lost their lives, including the nephew of President Kenyatta. (But Kenyan leaders) are saying, literally: This too shall pass, and we’ll rebound.
VFTH: What is Kenya’s relationship with the United States?
BS: Very good. They are allies of the United States.
VFTH: What has been the United States’ reaction to the attacks?
BS: The United States, from the very beginning when the al-Shebaab appeared, did everything that it could to support the ally governments, Ethiopia, Kenya and so on.
Because when a terror group reveals themselves to be a part of al-Qaeda, the United States becomes involved.
VFTH: What might help people better understand the situation in Kenya?
BS: People must distinguish between these extremists. They do not represent Islam.
They are extremists who do not represent the majority of Muslims in the world. After 9/11, some people have been lead to believe that all Muslims are against us, and that is not so.
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