Kenya Charges Four With Aiding Terrorism In Mall Assault

By Bill Chappell

Published November 4, 2013 at 10:42 AM CST

The first formal charges have been filed in the attack and standoff at a Nairobi mall that left at least 67 people dead. Four men are charged with aiding terrorism.

Four men in Nairobi, Kenya, are facing charges that include harboring terrorists who conducted an attack that left at least 67 people dead in September. The formal charges are the first filed over the assault and standoff at Nairobi's Westgate Mall.

One of the men is accused of offering refuge to a gunman after the attack, according to court documents cited in Kenyan media. Authorities say others allowed the attackers to stay at their homes before the attack. At least one of them also faces charges related to false identification documents.

From Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper:

"The four, who are all ethnic Somalis, are Mohammed Ahmed Abdi, Liban Abdullah, Adan Adan and Hussein Hassan. They are believed to have been involved in the attack together with others who are either at large or were killed during the operation mounted by security forces."

After the attack began, the militant Islamist group al-Shabab, based in Somalia, claimed responsibility.

The men pleaded not guilty in court Monday; they are being held without bail.

Prosecutors say that the investigation into the events around the assault is continuing. The four men charged Monday are not believed to have taken part in the attack on the mall.