Kenya: Four days Mall siege ended
Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta has announced that the siege of Westgate shopping mall has ended with five members of the armed group killed by gunfire and another 11 suspects currently being held in custody.
Kenyatta called for three days of national mourning for the victims of the four-day national ordeal. 67 people had been killed in the attacks by Al-shabab gunmen
Kenya has “shamed and defeated our attackers” but the “losses are immense”, Kenyatta said, confirming that 61 civilians and six soldiers had died.
Three days of national mourning have been declared, starting on Wednesday.
President Kenyatta said that several bodies – including those of “terrorists” – were thought to be trapped under rubble after three floors of the building collapsed following a blaze on Monday.
Some 175 people were injured in the attack; 62 people remain in hospital and many others are being treated for shock and are undergoing counselling.
“I promise that we shall have a full accountability for the mindless destruction, deaths, pain, loss and suffering we have all undergone as a national family. “These cowards will meet justice, as will their accomplices and patrons, wherever they are,” he said.
At least 18 foreigners are among the dead, including six Britons, as well as citizens from France, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, Peru, India, Ghana, South Africa and China.
Somali militant group al-Shabab said it had carried out the attack in retaliation for Kenyan army operations in Somalia.
The president said he could not however confirm reports that a British national and two or three US citizens were involved in the attacks, but he said forensic experts were carrying out tests to ascertain their nationalities.
In an interview with the US TV programme PBS Newshour, Kenya’s Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said the Americans were 18 or 19 years old, of Somali or Arab origin.
Her remarks have fueled speculation across the world about the possible involvement of Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of one of the men who carried out attacks on London’s transport system on 7 July 2005.
But a Twitter post from al-Shabab on Tuesday evening dismissed claims that women were involved in the attack. The group said it “categorically” denied involvement of any woman” The post further stated “We have an adequate number of young men who are fully committed and we do not employ our sisters in such military operations.”
Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said those behind the attacks “must be held accountable.”
Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, has repeatedly threatened attacks on Kenyan soil if Nairobi did not pull its troops out of Somalia. There are about 4,000 Kenyan troops in the south of Somalia as part of an African Union force supporting Somali government forces.
Despite being pushed out of key cities in the past two years, it remains in control of smaller towns and large swathes of the countryside.
UN special representative for Somalia Nicholas Kay called on Tuesday for a fresh surge in African troops to Somalia to counter an estimated 5,000 al-Shabab fighters.
