Kenya: Hotel Complex Under Siege, 15 People Dead

At least 15 people have been killed after a group of Islamist gunmen attacked a hotel and office complex in Nairobi, Kenya.

According to reports, at least four gunmen – believed to be members of the Somalia-based Islamist group, Al-Shabaab, who claimed responsibility for the attack – stormed the DusitD2 complex on Tuesday, 15 January.

Civilians were either forced to flee or barricade themselves in their offices to await rescue, as the gunmen engaged security forces.

Early on Wednesday morning, sporadic gunfire and explosions were heard, with a suicide bomber reportedly blowing himself up. A group of around 150 workers was escorted by security forces from a building where they had sought refuge.

In a televised address, President Uhuru Kenyatta declared that the operation to neutralise the gunmen was over, and urged that the country was safe for its citizens and visitors.

Kenya has been the frequent target of Al-Shabaab. In 2013, the group killed 67 people at Nairobi’s Westgate shopping centre. In 2015, 150 students died in a gun attack at Garissa University in the city of Garissa.