Tragedy strikes people of Kenya
Nairobi mal suffers after attack by terrorist group Al Shabaab
Photo by: SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Images
Policemen carry a baby to safety after masked gunmen stormed an upmarket mall and sprayed gunfire, killing at least six.The Gunmen are said to have taken up to seven hostages during the attack at Nairobi’s Westgate Mall.
On, Saturday, Sept. 21, Somalia’s terrorist group Al Shabaab took credit for the terrorist attack on Nairobi’s Westgate mall. Calling it “an act of justice”, five of the attackers were killed during the standoff, with sixty-seven innocent civilians being killed in the process of the attack. Three days later, Kenyan officials had taken back the mall, with the remaining shooters taken into custody. According to the terrorist group, the attack was meant to remind the general entity of “Kenya” that their army continues to occupy the group’s homeland of Somalia.
Attacks such as this bring back memories of past attacks and fears of future ones; the general consensus is that it is not the last time events such as this will take place.
“The war on terror is not very effective because we continue to have groups such as this all over the globe,” said sophomore Zareen Emdad.
Like many situations involving international terrorism, the question has arisen as to how far terrorism will continue to expand.
“The ‘War on Terror’ has become global. You just can’t think of the U.S. alone. Citizens of any country, can be involved or be victims,” said Foreign Language teacher Susan Patelunas.
Details revealed after the incident reveal the attackers to have not actually taken conventional hostages; in fact, survivors in the mall were hiding from the gunmen instead. Injuries of the innocent civilians include those sustained by grenade fragments during the showdown between Kenyan officials and the terrorists. The Kenyan government has named four identified gunman: Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan, Khattab al-Kene and a man known only as “Umayr”. President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta,criticized for his handling of the situation in the last two weeks, has promised the international community an official report of the incident in the near future. In the meantime, the world is continuing to watch in worry, waiting for the next event to shake a nation.
“Unfortunately, people of ‘terror’ adapt. It is unrealistic to think it [terrorist attacks] won’t happen again,” said Patelunas.