Raid the Westgate Mall

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Column of smoke over the mall

The attack on the Westgate shopping center in the Kenyan capital Nairobi occurred on September 21, 2013. The subsequent hostage-taking ended on September 24. Islamist extremists from the Somali Al-Shabaab militia confessed to the crime.

shopping mall

The Westgate shopping center in Nairobi, Kenya, 2007

Westgate Shopping Center in the Westlands neighborhood of Nairobi is a five-story complex that opened in 2007. It is a symbol of Kenya's economic rise . The mall is owned by an Israeli investor group.

procedure

People fleeing in front of the Westgate shopping center

At lunchtime on September 21, 2013, four to six (initial media and police reports were from ten to 18) masked attackers stormed into the upscale Westgate shopping center in Nairobi and opened fire. They are said to have been armed with automatic firearms and hand grenades. According to eyewitness reports, they are said to have focused on non-Muslims in the murders, while they are said to have asked Muslims, who are said to have recognized them by whether they could read Arabic scripts, to leave the building. Other reports said the attackers asked for the name of Muhammad's mother - Āmina bint Wahb - in order to identify Muslims.

Police and military forces surrounded the mall while it was being evacuated, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on the evening of the day. Security guards who were already in the building are said to have helped with the evacuation. The attackers are said to have holed up with hostages in the center, it said. There were repeated exchanges of fire between hostage-takers and security forces.

On the evening of September 21, members of the Islamist Al-Shabaab militia admitted via the Internet short message service Twitter to the act, which had been identified as an act of revenge for military operations directed against the Al-Shabaab movement in Kenya in neighboring Somalia .

On the afternoon of September 22nd, Kenyan special forces went to the mall with the help of Israeli advisors. According to the Kenyan government, almost all of the hostages were liberated on September 23, but fighting with the attackers is said to have continued. A column of smoke coming from the shopping center was due to the attackers. According to the Kenyan Interior Minister Ole Lenku, the situation was "under control" at the time.

On September 24, Kenyan soldiers stormed the building. Five of the hostage-takers are said to have died. Eleven suspects were also arrested. The parking garage adjacent to the shopping center largely collapsed after the fighting started a fire. President Kenyatta ordered a three-day national mourning .

Various media reported that there should have been disputes over competence and shootings between security forces, especially between the police and the military. The commander of an anti-terrorist unit and regular soldiers are said to have perished. Security forces are also said to have looted shops in the shopping center during the hostage situation.

Victim

According to official figures, 67 people were killed in the attack. Among them are a nephew of the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his partner, as well as the Ghanaian writer Kofi Awoonor and the Indian-born television and radio presenter Ruhila Adatia-Sood , who was pregnant at the time of her death. Adatia-Sood was hosting a children's cookery program for the Kenyan television station Kiss-TV when the attack occurred. One of the children killed is the eight-year-old son of the head of the Bank of Baroda . Among the dead is also the Peruvian physicist from the Center for Maternal and Newborn Healths (CMNH) and UNICEF pediatrician Juan Jesus Ortiz-Iruri, who led UNICEF Malawi and UNICEF Kenya in a management position in 2012. Furthermore, the Australian-British architect Ross Langdon and his pregnant girlfriend, the malaria expert Elif Yavuz, died, whose death was officially commented on by the Clinton family.

According to initial information, there were talk of over 150 injured. The Kenyan government later corrected this information to around 300 injured. After the hostage-taking ended, the government said 61 civilians, including at least 16 foreigners, and six security guards were dead. Five of the hostage-takers were also dead. Up to 200 people were injured. According to the Kenyan Red Cross, 63 other people are missing. The Al-Shabaab militia itself spoke of 137 people killed.

According to François Hollande, two French citizens are said to be among the dead . The US State Department also spoke of indications of injured US citizens. According to the Israeli government, one Israeli was slightly injured, but it is not believed that Israel and its citizens were the target of the attack. The Canadian government also announced that two Canadians, including a diplomat, had been killed in the act. The Indian Embassy announced that nine people died, including an eight-year-old boy and several Bank of Baroda employees .

According to media reports, the attack is the most momentous attack in Kenya since the 1998 bomb attack on the US embassy in Nairobi.

Investigations

According to the findings of German security authorities, it is assumed (as of 2013) that a German convert was also involved in the preparations for the attack on the shopping center.

On November 4, 2013, four suspected members of Somali al-Shabaab were arrested. According to the authorities, the men are said to have been behind the attack and to have supported the bombers in the preparations. The trial against the men began on November 11, 2013.

On November 1, 2013, the New York City Police Department released a 34-page investigation report into the attack.

The US government announced on March 18, 2015 that it had killed Aden Garar - a high-ranking member of the Al-Shabaab militia and one of the alleged masterminds of the Nairobi attack - in a drone attack in Somalia on March 12, 2015.

International reactions (excerpt)

  • African UnionAfrican Union African Union - The chairwoman of the African Union Commission Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma condemned the act in the strongest terms and spoke of a "terrorist attack". At the same time, she called on the member states of the AU to continue to do everything possible against terrorism on the continent.
  • ArgentinaArgentina Argentina - The Argentine Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling the act a "barbaric act" and expressing condolences to the Kenyan government and the families of the victims.
  • European UnionEuropean Union European Union - European Union Foreign Representative Catherine Ashton condemned the crime and pledged full support to Kenya.
  • FranceFrance France - President François Hollande described the attack as a "cowardly attack".
  • IsraelIsrael Israel - Israel sent advisers to Nairobi to assist the Kenyan government.
  • United NationsU.N. United Nations - The UN Security Council condemned the violence, but urged Kenya to respect human rights.
  • United StatesUnited States United States - The United States condemned the violence and offered assistance to the Kenyan government in catching the perpetrators. According to media reports, US special forces attacked a Somali Al-Shabaab camp in response to the attack on October 4, 2013.
  • United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom - Prime Minister David Cameron spoke to the Kenyan President and assured Kenya of any assistance needed.

See also

Web links

Commons : Raid the Westgate Shopping Center  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jason Straziuso: Multiple Blasts Rock Kenya Hostage Crisis Mall. In: ABCNews.com. September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Attack in Nairobi: Shebab militia confesses to raiding a shopping center. In: FAZ.NET . September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013 .
  3. ↑ a b Jeffrey Gettlemen and Nicholas Kulish: Gunmen Kill Dozens in Terror Attack at Kenyan Mall. In: The New York Times . September 21, 2013, accessed September 23, 2013 .
  4. ↑ a b The hostage-taking in Nairobi continues. In: FAZ Online. September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013 .
  5. ↑ a b Hostage-taking in Kenya: It is possible that only four men were involved in the attack. In: Spiegel Online. November 6, 2013, accessed November 6, 2013 .
  6. ↑ a b c d e The hostage situation in the shopping center ended. In: FAZ.NET Online. September 24, 2013, accessed September 24, 2013 .
  7. ↑ a b c d 39 dead in an attack on a shopping center in Nairobi. In: Zeit Online. September 21, 2013, accessed September 23, 2013 .
  8. ^ A b c New York City Police Department : Analysis Of Al-Shabaab's Attack At The Westgate Mall In Nairobi, Kenya. In: NYPD Westgate Report. November 1, 2013, accessed December 12, 2013 .
  9. ↑ Thomas Scheen: Shots in the occupied shopping center in Nairobi. In: FAZ Online. September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013 .
  10. ↑ a b Israeli special forces support Kenya in freeing hostages. In: German economic news . September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013 .
  11. ↑ Shopping center in Nairobi under control. In: Zeit Online. September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013 .
  12. ↑ Kenya mall attack: dozens more bodies believed buried under rubble. In: The Guardian . September 25, 2013, accessed September 25, 2013 .
  13. ↑ Markus M. Haefliger on nzz.de : Assumption Command in Nairobi ; dated November 29, 2013; Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  14. ↑ Shafagh Laghai: Rescuers who preferred to plunder. In: tagesschau.de . September 29, 2013, archived from the original on October 31, 2013 ; Retrieved December 12, 2013 .
  15. ↑ a b Four Somalis indicted. In: FAZ.NET . September 23, 2013, accessed December 12, 2013 .
  16. ^ Nairobi shopping mall attack: Nephew of Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta among the dead. In: Metro.co.uk . September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013 .
  17. ^ Senior Ghanaian citizen, Awoonor killed in Kenya gun attack. In: Ghana Business News . September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013 .
  18. ↑ Stephen Kersey: Radio Host Ruhila Adatia-Sood Killed in Mall Shooting in Kenya. In: Every Joe . September 21, 2013, accessed September 23, 2013 .
  19. ↑ KISS 100's Ruhila Adatia Died Today at Westgate .. She Was Pregnant. In: NairobiWire.com. September 21, 2013, accessed September 23, 2013 .
  20. ^ Two Indians among Kenya mall attack victims. In: The Hindu . September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013 .
  21. ^ Nairobi Westgate attack: Six Britons believed killed September 23, 2013.
  22. ^ The Epoch Times : Juan Ortiz-Iruri, Peruvian Health Consultant, Killed in Nairobi Mall Attack, September 23, 2013.
  23. ↑ Bill Clinton mourns the dead Kenya hostage on September 24, 2013.
  24. ↑ Hostage- takers hide in a shopping center in Nairobi. In: Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung Online. September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013 .
  25. ↑ Zachary Stieber: Mitul Shah, Rajan Solanki, Nehal Vekaria, and Jyoti Vaya Among Indians Killed in Kenya Terror Attack. In: The Epoch Times . September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013 .
  26. ↑ Terror in Kenya: Suspicion against Germans. In: Tagesspiegel-Online. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  27. ^ Daily Nation : Four charged over Westgate attack, November 4, 2013.
  28. ^ Westgate siege: Four charged over Nairobi attack. In: BBC News . 4th November 2013.
  29. ↑ USA reports the death of Schabaab leader on tagesschau.de
  30. ↑ FAZ.net: American drone kills militia leader
  31. ↑ AU strongly condemns attacks in Nairobi shopping mall. In: AfricaNews.cn. September 22, 2013, archived from the original on October 1, 2013 ; accessed on September 24, 2013 (English).
  32. ↑ Argentina condena el atentado en Kenya. In: La Voz. September 21, 2013, Retrieved September 24, 2013 (Spanish).
  33. ^ Statement by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on the attack in Nairobi. (PDF; 161 kB) September 22, 2013, accessed on September 24, 2013 (English).
  34. ↑ a b Kenya forces mount assault to end small siege. Al Jazeera , September 22, 2013, accessed September 23, 2013 .
  35. ↑ a b CNN Staff: World leaders condemn terror attack at Kenya mall, pledge support. CNN , September 22, 2013, accessed September 24, 2013 .

Coordinates: 1 ° 15 ′ 24.5 ″  S , 36 ° 48 ′ 11.8 ″  E