Terrorists stormed a bank within a hotel complex in Nairobi before a suicide bomber detonated himself in the foyer of one of the buildings of the Dusit D2 Hotel complex on Tuesday afternoon this week (January 15). Several vehicles exploded in the hotel car park as they then attacked the hotel, shooting indiscriminately. Kenyan specialist security forces almost immediately launched an operation to flush out the terrorists. Hundreds of people had been trapped inside and President Kenyatta said a total of 700 civilians had been rescued by security forces when the operation came to an end. The attack left 21 people dead with another 28 in hospital. All five terrorists were killed; and the police said on Wednesday that they had arrested two people believed to have assisted the terrorists.
Following the attack, President Kenyatta said the country was on the highest alert, and would remain so, “I assure every Kenyan and foreign visitor that you are safe.” He also urged Kenyans to remain vigilant; security, he said, was “a joint responsibility between citizens and government.” He said: “We are in the process of building a new Kenya that is prosperous, secure, and inclusive, and in which every Kenyan has an opportunity to thrive. We will allow no one to derail or frustrate our progress. No one in Kenya today, or at any time, should doubt our resolve to maintain security in our country, our determination is unswerving. We have prevailed and shall always prevail over evil.”
President Kenyatta welcomed the messages of solidarity and condolence he had received. Among these, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Dr. Abiy strongly condemned “the senseless and violent attack committed against innocent civilians”, and expressed his condolences to the families of the bereaved, and to all Kenyans; the Federal Government of Somalia condemned “this heinous act of terror” by al-Shabaab which, it noted, routinely targeted innocent people. María Fernanda Espinosa, President of the UN General Assembly, and António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General denounced the attack; Mr. Guterres expressed UN’s “total solidarity with the people, the government, and the president of Kenya.”
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms. He stressed that the attack, once again, underlined the imperative for renewed and reinvigorated efforts to combat terrorism throughout Africa. He commended the swift response by the security forces of Kenya, and expressed the solidarity of the AU with the government and people of Kenya. He reiterated the AU’s commitment to continue to work to stabilize the situation in Somalia and the fight against al-Shabaab through AMISOM.
