The Somali-Canadian radio host behind a rally held Thursday to condemn Al-Shabab said the community could not remain silent in the wake of the Nairobi shopping mall attack that left more than 60 dead. In the heart of the Toronto neighborhood that is home to many ethnic Somalis, about 100 people gathered to show they stood by Kenyans following the Westgate Mall siege and wanted Al-Shabab to be eliminated.
“We cannot be silent and go without making condemnation. It’s the first time for the community to make this kind of effort so it’s a good thing,” said organizer Hassan Abdillahi of Radio Ogaal, a popular Somali-language FM station. “It’s to help the community and get together in solidarity and condemn all the terror acts — and everywhere, actually, not only for Kenya.”
Already wary of Al-Shabab over its efforts to recruit Canadian youths, Somalis have turned noticeably against the armed Islamist group as it has becoming increasingly brutal but Nairobi was a turning point, Mr. Abdillahi said. Mohamed Atteye, 67, said he came from Brampton to show his support for Kenya, which has welcomed hundreds of thousands of Somalis fleeing violence — himself included. He travelled to Kenya by boat before coming to Canada. “This is the respect we have for them, not bombing and killing them. And we should always remember.”
He said he felt for Kenyans because Somalis had long suffered under Al-Shabab. He said he wanted the region to work together to finish off the terror group. “The biggest problem in Somalia is Al-Shabab,” he said. “The focus of the government and the countries and the world should be against Al-Shabab, because Al-Shabab is part of al-Qaeda.”
Sagal Ali said she had friends who escaped the Westgate Mall attack. “People were killed in Kenya, children, women, all kinds of people,” she said. “It was a terrible shock.” As for Al-Shabab, she said, “They’re just a menace to society.” Two Canadians were among those killed during the siege, which began Sept. 21 and ended four days later with the partial collapse of the upscale shopping mall. Five attackers were killed and 10 suspects are in police custody.
The gunmen claimed to have allowed Muslim hostages to leave before torturing and executing the rest. Al-Shabab said the attack was a warning to Kenya, which is part of an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia that is funded partly by Canada.
An affiliate of al-Qaeda, Al-Shabab has been fighting to impose its militant version of Islamic law on Somalis. It has threatened to conduct attacks in Canada. The Somali community, meanwhile, has been trying to steer youths away from Al-Shabab, which has been recruiting Canadians with propaganda that portrays terrorism as a religious duty.
About 20 Canadians of Somali origin are suspected Al-Shabab members. A half-dozen students left Toronto in 2009 to join, but four of them are now dead and another two have left the group after becoming disillusioned with its ruthless campaign of violence.
Another Somali-Canadian faces charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act after he was arrested at Toronto’s Pearson airport, allegedly as he was on his way to Somalia to join Al-Shabab. His case has not yet gone to trial.
The RCMP said last week it was aware of reports that one of the Nairobi gunmen was from Ontario and that there were “investigative processes that police must follow in gathering evidence to determine any potential involvement by Canadians in terrorist activities outside of Canada.”
Kenyan authorities have described the attackers as a multinational group that included Americans and British citizens, but they have produced no evidence to support that and cautioned that the terrorists’ identities had not yet been verified. “Al-Shabab are on their last legs. They lost members, they lost morale, they lost ground. They’re only in small pockets,” the Somali deputy prime minister told reporters in Ottawa this week. “It just needs the last push.”
Credit: National Post
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