Authorities Find Accused Somali War Criminal Working as Airport Security Guard in Washington, D.C.

A Somali national accused of leading mass executions and torturing people during his country’s bloody civil war in the 1980s has been working as a security guard at the Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C, passing through all TSA and FBI checks for the past six years.

Yusuf Abdi Ali, who is living in Alexandria, Virginia, was discovered by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, according to Fox 5. Ali had been through the full, federally mandated vetting process required to obtain an airport badge, officials said.

Since the revelation, Ali has been placed on administrative leave, and his airport access has been revoked. Airport officials said that they are aware the Somali native was named in a lawsuit filed by a human rights group in 2006 for crimes against humanity. According to CNN, the case has faced several appeals and is headed to the Supreme Court.

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The U.S. government has been aware of Ali for several years, officials told CNN, “based upon allegations that he had been involved in human rights violations.” They declined to provide any further information.

“He oversaw some of the most incredible violence that you can imagine,” Kathy Roberts, a lawyer for the Center of Justice and Accountability, which is leading the civil lawsuit, told CNN. “He tortured people personally; he oversaw torture.”

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However, Ali denies all the accusations of violence, claiming they are both “false” and “baseless.”

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