This past week, the Al-Qaeda affiliated militant group, Al-Shabab, invaded a mall in Nairobi, Kenya. This militant group through grenades and fired at civilians in the mall, killing 67 civilians and military officials. According to BBC, the militant group reported on twitter that they held 137 hostages that were killed by forced chemical leaks, however the government did not confirm this and has told people to ignore these posts. Many people are still trapped inside the mall or unaccounted for, so the police force is working to find these civilians and to move them to safety. The video above is a clip of a police officer helping a family move to safety. Today, Kenya began their three day mourning for all the people who were injured and killed in the attacks. It has been reported that the reason for the attack is that Al-Shabab threatened an attack, if Kenya did not remove troops from Somalia. Al-Shabab's goal is to create an Islamic state in Somalia. Personally, I think that the US should tighten domestic security, but other than that keep their distance to prevent getting tangled in another foreign conflict.
How do you think the US should respond?
3 comments:
Before I answer and comment here is an article that provides a good background on the conflict and a different point of view a a Embassy member
The Al-Shabab Terrorist group is a group that has been linked with Al Qaeda, and this is not the first time they have striked in a public terror attack. Before 9/11 they blew up parts of the US Embassy. I'm not sure how involved the United States should be involved in this diplomatic issue. There alright is a embassy and troops, but that is the reason why the group is attacking the public. If they increase the amount of pressure they put on the opposition, the opposition says they will increase attacks. Somlia and Kenya have always been places characterized by trepidation and violence, while the government seems to be ghostly. I'm sure that action will be taken, but how far? We will have to wait and see.
I believe that this is an issue that the U.N should handle for now. However the U.N is not known for acting quickly and it could take a while for acting if they decide to do anything. If the situation gets worse and the Al-Shabab terrorist continue to kill people then action should be taken to save these innocent people.
Although this is a certainly a devastating tragedy, it would be a bad idea for the US to involve itself in additional foreign issues. Like Lorenz said, this situation should be left for the UN to handle, instead of the US specifically. However, it is rumored, in this CNN article, that several of the attackers were American, from Minnesota, where a significant number of Somali Americans reside. Young Somali Americans are being recruited to train in Somali camps and join the Shabab. If this is indeed true, then the US will be involved no matter what, and will have to consider tightening security. Either way, the US plans to investigate. The article also notes that 5 of the people wounded were Americans as well.
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