Kenyan Mall To Re-Open 2 Years After Al-Shabaab Attack

Kenyan officials say the city's Westgate Mall will re-open on Saturday, nearly two years after an attack there by al-Shabaab extremists left at least 67 people dead.



Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero on Tuesday toured the Westgate Mall, which has been largely refurbished since the devastating attack that led to a four-day siege by security forces.

The violence that erupted on September 21 2013 when four militants entered the mall and began firing on civilians left the mall in shambles, with bullet-scarred walls, shattered windows and flooded floors.

The four gunmen are believed to have died from smoke inhalation from a fire that collapsed part of the building.

Kenya sent troops to Somalia in 2011 after cross-border attacks by al-Shabaab, which then vowed retaliation for the military presence in Somalia.