Kenya president says mall siege over, 67 dead

Published September 24, 2013
Trucks of soldiers from the Kenya Defense Forces arrive  at the Westgate Mall - Photo by AP
Trucks of soldiers from the Kenya Defense Forces arrive at the Westgate Mall - Photo by AP
A photo of fake South African passport of Samantha Lewthwaite released by Kenyan police in December 2011 - Photo by AFP
A photo of fake South African passport of Samantha Lewthwaite released by Kenyan police in December 2011 - Photo by AFP

NAIROBI: Kenya's president announced Tuesday that a siege of a Nairobi shopping mall was over, but said losses from the attack by gunmen were “immense” and at least 67 people had died.

“We have ashamed and defeated our attackers, that part of our task is completed,” President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a televised address to the nation.

“Our losses are immense,” he said. “We have been badly hurt, but we have been brave, united and strong. Kenya has stared down evil and triumphed. We have defeated our enemies and showed the whole world what we can accomplish.”

Kenyatta said 61 civilians and six members of the security forces died in the siege. He said five attackers had been killed and that there were 11 suspects in custody.

The toll was provisional, he indicated, saying “three floors of the mall collapsed, trapping several bodies within the rubble including those of terrorists.”

The president also called three days of national mourning.

A group of attackers marched into the four-storey Westgate Mall at midday Saturday, spraying shoppers with automatic weapons fire and tossing grenades.

Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked Shebab said it carried out the attack.

Kenyatta said “intelligence reports had suggested that a British woman and two or three American citizens may have been involved in the attack.”

”We cannot confirm the details at present but forensic experts are working to ascertain the nationalities of the terrorists.”

The president promised “full accountability for the mindless destruction, deaths, pain, loss and suffering we have all undergone.”

”These cowards will meet justice, as will their accomplices and patrons, wherever they are.”

Opinion

Editorial

Elusive justice
Updated 04 Jul, 2024

Elusive justice

Till the Pakistani justice system institutionalises the fundamental principles of justice, it cannot fulfil its responsibilities.
High food prices
04 Jul, 2024

High food prices

THAT the country’s exports of raw food rose by 37pc in the last financial year over the previous one is a welcome...
Paralysis in academia
04 Jul, 2024

Paralysis in academia

LIKE all other sectors, higher education is not immune to the debilitating financial crisis that is currently ...
Orwellian state
Updated 03 Jul, 2024

Orwellian state

Implementing a system to spy on one’s own people is a perverse abuse of power and should be stopped forthwith.
Coping with disaster
03 Jul, 2024

Coping with disaster

THE monsoons are practically upon us, bringing with them the fear of urban flooding, flash floods, and accompanying...
Jail security
Updated 03 Jul, 2024

Jail security

If those convicted of murder, rape or terrorism are able to break free, it will not reflect well on the competence of our criminal justice system.