The group of Islamist gunmen who stormed
the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi last year, killing at least 67
people, may have entered Kenya from neighbouring Uganda, a senior police
official was quoted as saying Saturday.
Uganda's
police chief, General Kale Kayihura, cited intelligence reports
indicating that Uganda had been used as a transit stage. He added that
Uganda was also still at risk of attack.
"Even
intelligence shows Westgate attackers passed through Uganda," Uganda's
government spokesman, Ofwono Opondo, quoted the general as saying during
a high-level meeting this week of security chiefs and senior government
officials.
"Uganda is being used as a transit route by
the terrorists who bomb Kenya," he added. "We must ensure there is no
disturbance in Kampala."
Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked
Shebab claimed responsibility for the Westgate attack, saying it was a
warning to Kenya to pull its troops out of southern Somalia, where they
are fighting the extremists as part of an African Union force.
Ugandan
troops are also fighting as part of the AU force, and in 2010 Shebab
bombers killed at least 76 people in restaurants in the Ugandan capital.
The
Westgate gunmen, believed to have numbered just four, were all killed
in the siege. Four men are currently on trial in Nairobi on charges of
providing them with logistical support, although it has been unclear
precisely what route they took to Nairobi.
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