Kenyan Terrorist Attack Speaks to Trouble in Somalia

The mall massacre reflects Kenya's struggles with al-Shabaab.

Members of Somalia's al-Shabab jihadist movement. The group has claimed responsibility for the gun and grenade attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya.

Photograph from AP

Michael Lokesson

for National Geographic

Published September 23, 2013

As the terrorist attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, moved toward a bloody conclusion on Monday night, at least 62 civilians had been confirmed killed and more than 175 injured, according to government figures.

The Somali militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attacks, via Twitter, and said it was retribution for recent Kenyan military actions against the group in Somalia.

Kenya is no stranger to terrorist attacks, and groups linked to al-Shabaab have been the main culprits over the last decade.

People leave the Westgate shopping mall after gunmen fired automatic weapons and grenades inside.

Photograph by Kabir Dhanji, European Pressphoto Agency

"Kenya is living with the fallout every day of what is happening in Somalia," said Christian Leuprecht, associate professor in the department of political science and economics at the Royal Military College of Canada.

Somalia, one of the poorest and most conflict-riven countries in the world, is often cited as an example of what political scientists refer to as a "failed state." After the fall of longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre's administration in January 1991, the country's national government collapsed, and rival warlords and factions battled for supremacy. Al-Shabaab, a radical offshoot of another Islamist organization, eventually thrived in that lawless environment.

Somali Conflict Spills Into Kenya

Kenya shares a 400-mile border with Somalia, and has had to endure an overflow of arms and refugees during the past two decades. Recognizing a need to restore some stability to its neighbor, the Kenyan government hosted the internationally recognized Somali Transitional Federal Government, as well as European training facilities for Somali soldiers.

In 2011, under the auspices of the African Union, Kenyan forces began an offensive against al-Shabaab in the south of Somalia. The Kenyans restored the rule of the recognized government in several areas, including the important port town of Kismayo, al-Shabaab's primary economic center.

Shabaab anger over its loss of territory and economic resources probably spurred the Westgate Mall attack, as well as smaller-scale bombings and shootings in Kenya over the last two years, says Leuprecht.

An Earlier Wave of Terrorism

An al-Qaeda cell carried out Kenya's most deadly terror attack, the August 7, 1998, bombing of the American Embassy in Nairobi, which killed 223 people.

Prior to the Kenyan intervention in Somalia, and with the exception of the 1998 embassy bombing, most high-level terror attacks within Kenya targeted Israelis or Israeli interests.

In 1980, Arab terrorists bombed the Norfolk Hotel, killing 20 and injuring 80, in retaliation for Kenya allowing Israeli forces to refuel in the country during the 1976 hostage rescue at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.

On November 28, 2002, Islamist radicals with ties to Somalia bombed the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, killing 13 and injuring 80. At the same time, terrorists fired two shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles at a Boeing 757 airliner in Kenya owned by Israel-based Arkia Airlines. The missiles failed to hit the plane, which continued on its flight to Israel.