NAIROBI, Kenya – Security officials in Kenya say a Westgate Mall attacker once lived in a refugee camp in northwestern Kenya that houses more than 54,000 Somali refugees.
Two officials said a Westgate attacker named Mohammed Abdinur Said once lived in the Kakuma refugee camp. The officials insisted on anonymity to share information not yet made public.
Raouf Mazou, the head of UNHCR in Kenya, said Monday that UNHCR has been cooperating with the Kenyan government on the Westgate investigation but that he wasn't familiar with the name Said.
The information comes as a new agreement was signed Sunday to encourage the nearly half million Somalis inside refugee camps in Kenya to return home. A top Kenyan official, Mutea Iringo, said insecurity is one reason Kenya wants refugees to return.