- Abdi Mohamed Ahmed, Liban Abdulle Omar, Adan Mohamed Ibrahim and Hussein Mustafa Hassan, appear in Nairobi court
- All pleaded not guilty to charges of carrying out a terrorist attack by supporting a terrorist group
- None are accused of being among the gunmen who carried out the attack
- At least 67 people died when al-Shabaab gunmen stormed the building
- Children as young as five were shot up to five times by the terrorists
Four Somalians have appeared in court charged with carrying out the terror attack at the Westgate shopping Mall in Kenya, by supporting the gunmen who slaughtered at least 67 people.
In total at least 67 people died when al-Shabaab gunman carried out the siege at Westgate in Nairobi on September 21. Children as young as five were shot up to five times by the terrorists.
Hussein Mustafa Hassan, Adan Mohamed Ibrahim, Liban Abdulle Omar and Abdi Mohamed Ahmed pleaded not guilty to charges of carrying out a terrorist attack by supporting a terrorist group.
Charged: Abdi Mohamed Ahmed, Liban Abdulle Omar, Adan Mohamed Ibrahim and Hussein Mustafa Hassan, were today charged in connection with the Kenyan Westgate mall massacre in September
Smile: Abdi Mohamed Ahmed (front, right) grins as he arrives at the courthouse in Nairobi to answer terrorism charges
All four are ethic Somalis and in their 20s. They pleaded not guilty to the charges, which also included entering Kenya illegally and obtaining false identification documents.
None are accused of being among the four gunmen in the mall who carried out the attack, who are all believed to have died during the four-day siege.
The suspects, who had no lawyer, were remanded in custody for one week after the prosecution asked for more time for further investigations.
Interpol is assisting Kenya in trying to identify four bodies suspected to be the gunmen, police said last week.
Witnesses in the mall described how the fighters stormed the crowded complex, firing from the hip and hurling grenades at shoppers and staff.
All four are ethic Somalis. They pleaded not guilty to the charges, which also included entering Kenya illegally and obtaining false identification documents
The gunmen coldly executed scores of people, with witnesses recounting how in some cases they called out to those wounded, then shot them at close range.
The Kenyan Red Cross has said some 20 people are still missing, and there are fears more bodies could be found in the wreckage of the mall.
Some of those charged were arrested in Kenya’s northwestern desert refugee camp of Kakuma, a vast settlement home to over 125,000 refugees from across the region, including Somalia.
Detectives are continuing to investigate a possible link to Norway, with Ndegwa Muhoro, head of Kenya’s Police Criminal Investigation Department, saying last week that a telephone call was made to the country from the mall during the attack.
Children as young as five were shot up to five times by the terrorists that carried out the Westgate mall massacre
The Kenyan Red Cross has said some 20 people are still missing, and there are fears more bodies could be found in the wreckage of the mall
A Norwegian citizen of Somali origin is suspected of being one of the attackers, a 23-year-old named in media reports as Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow.
Norway’s PST intelligence agency has said it has investigated reports about the possible involvement of a Norwegian of Somali origin in both planning and carrying out the attack, but has declined to comment if Dhuhulow was involved.
After the attack, the Shabab threatened further attacks against Kenya, after Nairobi refused to pull its troops out of Somalia, warning that, 'rivers of blood will flow in Nairobi.”
Kenya invaded southern Somalia to attack Shabab bases two years ago, and later joined the 17,700-strong African Union force deployed in the country.
In Somalia, efforts continue to target the Shabab, with a US drone strike killing the extremists’ top suicide bomb-maker last week.
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