Latest news with #DusitD2
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Two jailed for 30 years over 2019 Kenya hotel attack
A Kenyan court has sentenced two men to 30 years in prison for aiding al-Shabab fighters who were behind a deadly attack in Nairobi that left 21 people dead in 2019. On Thursday, Judge Diana Kavedza Mochache ruled that Hussein Mohammed Abdile and Mohamed Abdi Ali played a critical role by helping two of the attackers escape from a refugee camp using fake identity cards. The pair also provided financial assistance to the group. 'Without financiers, facilitators and sympathisers, terrorists cannot actualise their activities,' the judge said during sentencing, stressing that their support made the attack possible. 'The convicts may not have physically wielded the weapons that caused harm to the victims, but their facilitation directly enabled attackers who were heavily armed with guns, grenades and suicide vests,' Kavedza said. 'This was not a crime with isolated harm; 21 lives were lost,' she added, acknowledging statements from survivors about their ongoing psychological struggles. 'The emotional scars of the attack run deep,' she said. Abdile and Ali were convicted last month for facilitating and conspiring to commit a 'terrorist' act. Both men denied the charges and now have 14 days to assault on the upmarket DusitD2 complex in the Kenyan capital began on January 15, 2019, when gunmen stormed the compound and opened fire. Security forces launched an operation that lasted more than 12 hours. The government later announced that all the attackers had been killed. Al-Shabab, an armed group linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility, saying the assault was in retaliation for then-United States President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The siege was the first major attack in Nairobi since the 2013 Westgate mall massacre, which killed 67. In 2015, al-Shabab also attacked Garissa University, killing 148 people. Since Westgate, high-end venues in the capital have ramped up security, including vehicle and pedestrian checks. The DusitD2 complex, like Westgate, catered to wealthy Kenyans and foreign nationals, groups often targeted by al-Shabab. The Somalia-based group has repeatedly struck inside Kenya, aiming to force the withdrawal of Kenyan troops from Somalia, where they are part of a regional force battling the rebellion.
Al Jazeera
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Two jailed for 30 years over 2019 Kenya hotel attack
A Kenyan court has sentenced two men to 30 years in prison for aiding al-Shabab fighters who were behind a deadly attack in Nairobi that left 21 people dead in 2019. On Thursday, Judge Diana Kavedza Mochache ruled that Hussein Mohammed Abdile and Mohamed Abdi Ali played a critical role by helping two of the attackers escape from a refugee camp using fake identity cards. The pair also provided financial assistance to the group. 'Without financiers, facilitators and sympathisers, terrorists cannot actualise their activities,' the judge said during sentencing, stressing that their support made the attack possible. 'The convicts may not have physically wielded the weapons that caused harm to the victims, but their facilitation directly enabled attackers who were heavily armed with guns, grenades and suicide vests,' Kavedza said. 'This was not a crime with isolated harm; 21 lives were lost,' she added, acknowledging statements from survivors about their ongoing psychological struggles. 'The emotional scars of the attack run deep,' she said. Abdile and Ali were convicted last month for facilitating and conspiring to commit a 'terrorist' act. Both men denied the charges and now have 14 days to appeal. The assault on the upmarket DusitD2 complex in the Kenyan capital began on January 15, 2019, when gunmen stormed the compound and opened fire. Security forces launched an operation that lasted more than 12 hours. The government later announced that all the attackers had been killed. Al-Shabab, an armed group linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility, saying the assault was in retaliation for then-United States President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The siege was the first major attack in Nairobi since the 2013 Westgate mall massacre, which killed 67. In 2015, al-Shabab also attacked Garissa University, killing 148 people. Since Westgate, high-end venues in the capital have ramped up security, including vehicle and pedestrian checks. The DusitD2 complex, like Westgate, catered to wealthy Kenyans and foreign nationals, groups often targeted by al-Shabab. The Somalia-based group has repeatedly struck inside Kenya, aiming to force the withdrawal of Kenyan troops from Somalia, where they are part of a regional force battling the rebellion.
BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Kenyan court sentences men for aiding al-Shabab militants in 2019 hotel attack
A court in Kenya sentenced two men to 30 years in prison for facilitating the 2019 attack on a Nairobi luxury hotel complex that left 21 people dead. The court heard that Hussein Mohamed Abdille Ali and Mohamed Abdi Ali, both Kenyans, sent money and helped acquire fake identification documents for the militants, who died during the attack on the DusitD2 complex. Advertisement Al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab, based in neighbouring Somalia, claimed responsibility for the daytime attack, one of its deadliest inside Kenya. Hussein Mohamed Abdille Ali sat in the dock at a Nairobi court (Andrew Kasuku/AP) It occurred six years after an attack killed 67 people at Nairobi's Westgate Shopping Mall and four years after an attack killed 147 students at Garissa University in northern Kenya. Al-Shabab has vowed retribution against Kenya for sending troops to Somalia to fight it since 2011, and continues to stage attacks in Somalia and Kenya. Judge Diana Kavedza during her sentencing said the judgment spoke for the survivors who deserve closure. Advertisement She noted 'one of the most comprehensive counterterrorism investigations in Kenya's history, as law enforcement agencies pursued not only the attackers' immediate associates but also financiers, facilitators and logistical co-ordinators who enabled the attack'. Foreign nationals, including an American and a Briton, were among those killed in the 2019 attack.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Kenyan court sentences men for aiding al-Shabab militants in 2019 hotel attack
A court in Kenya sentenced two men to 30 years in prison for facilitating the 2019 attack on a Nairobi luxury hotel complex that left 21 people dead. The court heard that Hussein Mohamed Abdille Ali and Mohamed Abdi Ali, both Kenyans, sent money and helped acquire fake identification documents for the militants, who died during the attack on the DusitD2 complex. Al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab, based in neighbouring Somalia, claimed responsibility for the daytime attack, one of its deadliest inside Kenya. It occurred six years after an attack killed 67 people at Nairobi's Westgate Shopping Mall and four years after an attack killed 147 students at Garissa University in northern Kenya. Al-Shabab has vowed retribution against Kenya for sending troops to Somalia to fight it since 2011, and continues to stage attacks in Somalia and Kenya. Judge Diana Kavedza during her sentencing said the judgment spoke for the survivors who deserve closure. She noted 'one of the most comprehensive counterterrorism investigations in Kenya's history, as law enforcement agencies pursued not only the attackers' immediate associates but also financiers, facilitators and logistical co-ordinators who enabled the attack'. Foreign nationals, including an American and a Briton, were among those killed in the 2019 attack.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
Kenyan court sentences men for aiding al-Shabab militants in 2019 hotel attack
NAIROBI, Kenya — A court in Kenya on Thursday sentenced two men to 30 years in prison for facilitating the 2019 attack on a Nairobi luxury hotel complex that left 21 people dead. The court heard that Hussein Mohamed Abdille Ali and Mohamed Abdi Ali, both Kenyans, sent money and helped acquire fake identification documents for the militants, who died during the attack on the DusitD2 complex.
