Kenya (catch all)

[M-A Lagrange]

I live in Nairobi, Westgate mall is 2km far from my home. Several of my friens and colleagues were in westgate mall when it happened. There was a children cooking contest going on that day and it was just another shopping Saturday for all.
Al Shebaab target this mall because there are a lot of foreigners and it is a symbol of Kenya economicial success. According to AS twitter account, this attack is made to force Kenya to withdraw its troops from Somalia. To me, it is a Mumbay stile attack: a group of armed men entered the mall and started to shoot in the crow.

What is amazing is to see all the people together, helping each others to escape, black, white, indians, muslim, christians... In a Kenya were ethnic group, religion and origins are often an issue: all are together to face this coward act.

The operations were still going on this Sunday at noon (Kenya time).

[Entropy]

I think it's certainly a Mumbai-style attack. Monitoring the various twitter feeds, it's apparent that the attackers are being fed live intel and are coordinating efforts with and AS headquarters.

[davidbfpo]

The list of the alleged kidnappers reported on Twitter, entitled PrayingForWestgate and by ‏@shambuguREAL via @HSM_PRESS2; missing are 5 & 7 and the HSM account has been suspended:

10. abdirizak mouled 24 y.o from ontario canada
9. sayid nuh 25 y.o from kismayu somalia.
8. abdifatah osman keenadiid. 24 y.o from minneapolis.
6. gen mustafe noorudiin. 27 y.o from kansas city. MO.
4. qasim said mussa 22 y.o garissa KE.
3. ahmed nasir shirdoon 24 y.o from london UK.
2. zaki jama caraale 20 y.o from hargeisa somalia.
1. ismael guled 23 y.o from helsinki finland.

Another journalist refers to:

Among the attackers Jihadists from Arizona, Maine, Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, London, Helsinki, Damascus

Elsewhere UK C4 News has an interview with Al-Shabaab:http://www.channel4.com/news/al-shab...ng-mall-attack

[davidbfpo]

An interesting commentary by Ken Menkhaus, the doyen of US Somali academics, one passage says it all:

The Westgate attack is the latest sign of the group’s weakness. It was a desperate, high-risk gamble by Shabaab to reverse its prospects. If the deadly attack succeeds in prompting vigilante violence by Kenyan citizens or heavy-handed government reactions against Somali residents, Shabaab stands a chance of recasting itself as the vanguard militia protecting Somalis against external enemies. It desperately needs to reframe the conflict in Somalia as Somalis versus the foreigners, not as Somalis who seek peace and a return to normalcy versus a toxic jihadi movement.

Link:http://thinkprogress.org/security/20...n-desperation/

Note his view that the Somali desire to make money acted as a restraint on Al-Shabaab.

[Bill Moore]

An interesting commentary by Ken Menkhaus, the doyen of US Somali academics, one passage says it all:

Link:http://thinkprogress.org/security/20...n-desperation/

Note his view that the Somali desire to make money acted as a restraint on Al-Shabaab.

Seems we have heard this spin many times before. How many times have Al-Qaeda and Al Shabaab been on their last leg and about to die off? I agree the recent trend for Al Shabaab hasn't been good, but they still control a large section of Somalia, they still have control of around 5,000 fighters, and they were able to orchestrate a very sophisticated attack in another country, potentially with a multinational group of terrorists. If true that could imply the capacity to do the same in some locations in the West.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/22/world/...baab-analysis/

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Al-Shabaab has threatened revenge on Kenya ever since Kenyan forces entered Somalia.

Mall attack shows Al-Shabaab has taken its ability to strike outside Somalia to a new level.

The operation meets criteria that al Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri listed in a recent message.

Al-Shabaab allies in region include Kenyan militant group al Hijra and Eritrean government.

After years of infighting and feuds, the Nairobi attack may also confirm the ascendancy of Al-Shabaab's most militant faction and its leader Mukhtar Abu al Zubayr (aka Ahmed Abdi Godane). Zubayr attended a madrassa in Pakistan as a young man and merged the group with al Qaeda in February 2012. He sees Al-Shabaab as part of al Qaeda's global jihad.

Dissenters have defected or been killed. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys of Al-Shabaab's old guard surrendered to Somali authorities.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/kenya-...ry?id=20336438

During Congressional testimony in January 2012, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper listed al-Shabaab as one of the most significant terror threats to the homeland, in part due to a "foreign fighter cadre that includes U.S. passport holders... [who] may have aspirations to attack inside the United States."

However, a senior law enforcement official said the latest U.S. government analysis shows no heightened threat to the U.S. as a result of the Kenya attack. While al-Shabaab does have a desire to strike at Western targets in Africa, hitting the U.S. homeland is "not a priority" for them, the official said.

No predictions from me on this one, we'll see where this goes over the next few months.

[carl]

It seems to me that part of what will result from the attack depends upon how strong a sense national identity Kenyans have. Will they view this as an attack upon Kenya and Kenyans? I don't know and would be appreciative if some who know about this would comment.

[carl]

Here is a quote purportedly by a Kenyan general that I pulled off an Allafrica.com twitter feed.

""An army general was asked: 'Can you forgive a terrorist?' He replied: 'God forgives. Our task is to arrange their meeting'"

If the quote is accurate and the source real, I'd say that guy has his PR skills down pat.