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Deadly Hotel Attack by al-Shabab Sends a Message to Kenya—and Washington

Deadly Hotel Attack by al-Shabab Sends a Message to Kenya—and Washington
Kenyan security forces aim their weapons as they run through a hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya, Jan. 15, 2019 (AP photo by Ben Curtis).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Senior Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.

On Monday, a court in Kenya ruled that three men must stand trial over their alleged role in the 2013 assault on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi by the Somali extremist group al-Shabab. That attack, which left more than 60 people dead, underscored the risk of blowback in Kenya over its military operations against al-Shabab in neighboring Somalia.

The very next day, assailants detonated explosives in the parking lot of a Nairobi hotel and shopping complex before going inside and opening fire. The death toll as of Thursday was 21, with the majority of the victims being Kenyan.

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