Terror Group: Meet Our Demands or Kenya Mall Attack 'Only the Beginning' - East Idaho News
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Terror Group: Meet Our Demands or Kenya Mall Attack ‘Only the Beginning’

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GETTY 92413 Mallkenya?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1380033960013TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The terror group that claimed responsibility for the massacre at a Nairobi mall warned the Kenyan government on Tuesday to remove their forces from Somalia or the mall attack would be “only the beginning.”

“This Kenyan Government meddles flagrantly in Somalia’s affairs; kills and displaces the Somali people; loots Somalia’s riches and resources; and controls the simple life affairs in it,” an alleged spokesperson for the group, al-Shabab, said, calling the mall attack a “blessed” operation.

“We give this warning to the Kenyan Government and those who side with it: If it wants to live peacefully and safely, it must withdraw from our country, stop meddling in our affairs, set our captives free, and denounce all forms of fighting our religion. If you refuse to do so, you have seen what you will reap, which is only the beginning,” he said. “Thus, anticipate hard days.”

The audio was posted on a Twitter account recently announced by an al-Shabab spokesperson as legitimate.  Previously, there have been a number of Twitter accounts claiming to be linked to the terror group that have provided unverified information.

Authorities said at least 62 civilians have been killed since a group of al-Shabab fighters opened fire in Nairobi’s upscale Westgate mall on Saturday. Kenyan authorities recently said they are back in control of the facility. As early as late Monday night, the Twitter feed purported to belong to Shabab said that their fighters were still holding their ground.

Al-Shabab, a Somalia-based terrorist group that has allied itself with al Qaeda, controlled much of southern Somalia including the nation’s capital Mogadishu until a force of African Union troops, including Kenyans, pushed the terror group out in 2011 and 2012.

Earlier on Tuesday, the new Twitter account purportedly belonging to al-Shabab said, “You could have avoided all this and lived your lives with relative safety. Remove your forces from our country and peace will come.”

Earlier in the crisis, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta spoke on national television, calling the terrorists “despicable.”

“The despicable perpetrators of this cowardly act hope to intimidate, divide and cause despondency amongst Kenyans,” he said.  “We have overcome terrorist attacks before.  In fact, we have fought courageously and defeated them within and outside our borders.  We will defeat them again.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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