Westgate: A New Model for Terror?

Originally published in The UCC Express, October 8 2013

On September 21, up to fifteen terrorists entered the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya and began firing at shoppers and employees, while allowing Muslims to go free. The attack left at least seventy-two people dead, including five of the assailants, with the number expected to rise. Not long after the incident began, the Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility through its Twitter account, in what has now become the latest in a series of terrorist assaults by the group in and around the Horn of Africa. The incident has caused major outcry around the world, and has Western leaders worried. The United States has sent dozens of F.B.I. agents to Nairobi to comb through the rubble in the hopes of finding evidence that may bring those who instigated the attack to justice. At a glance, the incident looks self-contained within East Africa, but the United States and its Western allies have reason for concern. To understand why the incident takes on such an international form, it helps to understand the al-Shabaab organisation, and its motives. Al-Shabaab is a cell group based in war-torn Somalia, with close ties to Al-Qaeda. It sprang up in 2006, opposing foreign intervention along with Somalia’s interim government during the country’s civil war. Today, it is estimated to have upwards of 8,000 members. While its control of Somalia used to be far greater than it is today, having been banished from major cities, it remains a formidable force, controlling large swathes of countryside. Its goals as an organisation pertain mainly to banishing foreign troops from Somalia, and establishing strict Islamic law within the country. To accomplish these tasks, the group regularly attacks civilians of countries that have a military presence in Somalia. In 2010, it carried out a double suicide bombing in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, killing seventy-six people. Its reason for doing so was due to the fact that Uganda has provided troops for the African Union’s mission to Somalia. In 2011, it carried out a car-bomb attack near government buildings in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, killing up to seventy people. The latest attack in Kenya, earlier this month, was in retaliation for Kenyan troops being stationed in Somalia.

Recently, al-Shabaab has become an affiliate of al-Qaeda, something which is of great concern for Western allies. In February 2012, a joint video from the leaders of the two groups saw al-Shabaab pledge allegiance to al-Qaeda under its leader, Ayman al- Zawahiri. This poses a number of problems for the West. With al-Qaeda being forced to retreat in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States believes its members are increasingly taking refuge in Somalia with the aid of al-Shabaab. Al-Qaeda, along with other terrorist organisations are also suspected to be providing funding for the group. Another problem, perhaps more alarming, is al-Shabaab’s penchant for recruiting Westerners to its cause. In 2008, Shirwa Ahmed, a Somali born, naturalised American citizen, detonated a car-bomb in Somalia killing himself and scores of others. He was the first modern day American suicide bomber. Having become radicalised in his hometown of Minnesota, he travelled to Somalia, and became a member of al-Shabaab. Today, it is estimated that upwards of one hundred Americans and Britons are members of the organisation. This includes Samantha Lewthwaite, a British woman born in County Down, who was married to one of the London 7/7 bombers and fled the country for Somalia shortly after the attack. She is colloquially known as the the “White Widow,” and in the wake of the Westgate mall bombing in Kenya, Interpol issued a warrant for her arrest, suspicious that she may be a member of al-Shabaab. While it is not thought she was one of the terrorists to attack the mall, suspicions remain that some of the assailants were indeed Westerners. This translates into a very real issue for the United States, because it is entirely possible that some of these fundamentalists could bring the terrorism tactics they learn in Somalia back to the United States. Having an American passport would allow a terrorist to enter the country with relative ease.

The United States is a target for al-Shabaab because it has been fighting a proxy war in Somalia, providing upwards of half a billion dollars in aiding African Union troops in the fight against terrorism since 2007. But an al-Shabaab attack does not necessarily need to take place on American soil in order for it to affect American interests. Attacks in countries such as Kenya are of direct concern to America, as thousands of Americans live there, working for huge multi-nationals such as General Electric. The choice of the upscale Westgate mall as the target for the recent attack was well thought out. Al-Shabaab chose a location that was frequented by the affluent citizens of Nairobi, along with being a place where Western tourists congregated. The targets weren’t government officials, or military personnel, rather they were non-Muslim citizens. The Westgate mall was a soft target, intended to inflict maximum damage and gain maximum attention. That the death toll would contain a relatively large number of foreign nationals (twenty, including six Britons) was no coincidence. Several Americans were injured, but none were killed. Such a large number of foreign nationals killed has cemented al-Shabaab’s place as a terrorist organisation on a international level.

It is no coincidence that al-Shabaab has become one of the most attractive terrorist groups to disaffected Muslims in the West. It produces slick, high quality English-language propaganda, and actively seeks to attract Westerners. At this stage, the United States and its allies understands that just because a terrorist attack happens in a far away land, it does not mean they are immune to attack themselves. In 1998, a relatively unknown Al- Qaeda killed hundreds in terrorism attacks on Tanzania and Kenya. In 2001, it blew up the World Trade Centre and went on to define American foreign policy for the foreseeable future. The added danger of American citizens becoming radicalised adds a further sense of urgency to the terrorism threat. The Westgate mall attack was not the first terrorist incident by al-Shabaab, but it was certainly the most high profile. Western leaders will need to keep a close eye on the organisation as it builds its profile internationally, and continues to attract Western Muslims to its cause on a scale not seen before.