People fleeing the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. Nearly 40 people were killed there on September 21, 2013., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
39 killed and more carnage feared as Kenya mall attackers face off
By Greg Botelho. Faith Karimi and Lillian Lesposo, CNN
updated 8:09 PM EDT, Sat September 21, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
"Major operation underway," Kenyan government cryptically tweets
Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked militant group in Somalia, claims responsibility
It says the attackers are "still strong"; Kenyan officials say they are isolated
2 Canadians, 2 French are among the dead, their governments say
Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- Armed gunmen faced off with Kenyan police and soldiers inside an upscale Nairobi shopping mall early Sunday, hours after brazenly gunning down shoppers, diners and more.
Around 2:30 a.m. Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET Saturday) -- an hour after reporting five "visibly shaken" hostages had been released -- Kenya's National Disaster Operation Centre cryptically tweeted "major operations underway." What that meant was a mystery, and it didn't quell fears about what has happened or might happen to an unknown number of civilians who were still unaccounted for inside.
There were 39 confirmed dead as of around midnight Saturday, according to Kenya's president, who added his close relatives are among those killed. Two gunmen, including one who was detained after being shot, are also dead.
Francis Kimenia, secretary to the Cabinet, tweeted another 293 people got treatment at three area hospitals, which "are appealing for more blood." The wounded range in age from 2 to 78, the disaster operations center said, urging people to "remember them in your prayers."
Al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked militant group based in Somalia with ties to Nairobi's Eastleigh district and whose most recent attack of this scale came July 2010 in Uganda's capital, claimed responsibility for the carnage and vowed not to negotiate with Kenyan authorities. It claimed that "all Muslims" were escorted from the mall before the attack, suggesting its targets were people who didn't believe in their extreme form of Islam.
"The Mujahideen are still strong inside #Westgate Mall and still holding their ground," the group said late Saturday via Twitter. "All praise is due to Allah!"
Kenyan authorities, though, insist they have the upper hand, where it's now early Sunday morning. The last few hours of Saturday and the first few of Sunday, in Kenya, were largely quiet outside the mall except for movement.
Police tweeted that the attackers "have been isolated and pinned down in a room by security forces." And Joseph Ole Lenku, the national government's cabinet secretary for interior and coordination, hinted that the worst should be over.
"Our security forces have taken control of the situation," Lenku said.
"Attackers of Westgate shopping mall have been isolated and pinned down in a room by security forces in the ongoing operation," the national police said on Twitter.
Kenya's president, Uhuru Kenyatta, blasted "the despicable perpetrators of this cowardly act (who) hoped to intimidate, divide and cause despondency among Kenyans and would like to (create) a closed, fearful and fractured society."
Kenya is no stranger to terrorism, including a 1998 bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi that left 213 dead and other attacks before and since tied to al Qaeda and related groups.
In a televised speech late Saturday, Kenyatta said his nation has "overcome" such attacks before, refusing to budge from its values or relinquish his security. And it will do so again, he promised.
"We shall hunt down the perpetrators wherever they run to," the president said.
"We shall get them, and we shall punish them for this heinous crime.
"Westgate Mall lends itself a serene and safe environment away from the city centre," the mall's official website states.
That may have been true before -- while there had been warnings, the high-end mall filled with more than 80 stores and restaurants had never been targeted. But it couldn't have been further from the truth Saturday.
Rattles of gunshots beginning around noon shattered any sense of peace or normalcy among those picking up groceries, savoring their lunch and browsing through the racks at stores.
Gripped by fear: Not seeing attackers was part of the terror
Uche Kaigwa-Okoye was sipping his coffee when he heard what first sounded like a fallen table, then the continuing rat-a-tat of gunfire. As the gunshots became louder, people began screaming and running for the exits.
Some ran outside, only to turn around and headed back into the four-story mall when they realized bullets were flying there as well. Kaigwa-Okoye was among them, joining about 20 people who took shelter in a bathroom cubicle.
"They had grenades, and it was really, really loud," he told CNN, adding that he noticed tear gas in the corridors as well. "All of us felt like they were close."
As people texted family and friends outside the mall, word spread that nobody could be trusted -- and, even if the good guys could be sorted from the bad guys, the barrage of intermittent gunfire made any escape seem futile at times.
Sara Head, a Washington resident, experienced much of the same horror in the mall's parking garage. As her car pulled up, she and others heard the rattle of gunfire -- prompting them to crawl underneath and sneak behind cars before getting into a stairwell. She had company, including two people bleeding from gunshot wounds.
Eventually, the stairwell lights turned back on and the door to a nearby supermarket opened, so they dashed through the market and a nearby loading dock to safety.
"There was blood throughout the supermarket as we exited," Head recalled. "... It wasn't clear if it was OK to exit. I was short of sheep following."
By then it was clear that the once shiny, pristine Westgate mall had become a war zone.
That was shown as Kenyan soldiers in military fatigues, their guns cocked, crawled under cars to get closer to the mall, guns cocked.
Surveillance helicopters flew overhead.
Police took those rescued from the building to a secluded place for vetting to ensure they were not attackers. They streamed away from the mall in a straight line, arms raised up in the air.
The military asked local media not to televise anything live because the gunmen are watching the screens in the mall.
"We urge Kenyans to keep off Westgate mall, adjacent roads and its environs until further notice," the interior ministry said in a statement.
Most of the casualties are Kenyan, authorities said. But the mall is popular with expatriates and foreign nationals, who are among those killed and injured.
That includes two dead French nationals, their government said. Likewise, two Canadians -- one of them a diplomat -- died in the attack, according to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there were several Americans among the injured but none among the dead, though the wife of a foreign national working for the U.S. Agency for International Development was killed.
"As we prepare to bring the world's leaders at the United Nations next week," Kerry said in reference to the upcoming U.N. General Assembly, "we are reminded again in tragedy of our common humanity."
CNN's Faith Karimi and Greg Botelho reported and wrote from Atlanta; Lillian Lesposo reported from Nairobi. CNN's Michael Martinez, Chelsea Carter, Tim Lister, Nima Elbagir, Boriana Milanova, Jamie Crawford, Stefan Simons, Karen Smith and Azadeh Ansari contributed to this report.
Two Canadians, including diplomat, killed in mall mass shooting in Kenya
CTVNews.ca Staff
Last Updated Saturday, September 21, 2013 8:46PM EDT
Two Canadians have been killed in an attack on an upscale mall in Kenya’s capital Saturday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed in a statement.
One of the dead has been identified as 29-year-old Annemarie Desloges, a Canadian diplomat. Her husband was with her at the time of the attack, CTV News has learned.
“The hearts and prayers of all Canadians go out to the families and friends of all those affected by this senseless tragedy, and we extend our deepest condolences to those suffering the loss of Annemarie Desloges, one of our diplomats who has died in the attack,” Harper said in a statement.
The statement also said Desloges was a “distinguished public servant” working as a liaison officer with the Canadian Border Services Agency in Kenya.
Desloges came to Kenya two years ago from an embassy in New Delhi. She had worked for the Canadian government since 2008.
She is survived by her husband Robert Munk.
In a separate statement, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander and Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney offered their thoughts and prayers to Desloges’ family, friends and colleagues. They also paid tribute to public servants serving the country around the world.
“Like Annemarie, they do so because they believe in the cause of humanity,” they said.
“They believe that their work will better the lives of many at home and around the world. They believe in the values that Canada represents.
“We have no doubt that Annemarie touched the lives of many, and it is for that, that she will always be remembered.”
Brutal attack on major mall
Kenya’s president says 39 people died and more than 150 were wounded when armed gunmen stormed the upscale mall.
An al Qaeda-linked militant group from Somali, al-Shabab, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Harper said the “cowardly, hateful act” should not go unpunished.
“Canadian staff at our mission are offering Kenyan authorities every possible assistance to bring the perpetrators of this heinous attack to justice.”
With files from The Associated Press
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/two-canadians-including-diplomat-killed-in-mall-mass-shooting-in-kenya-1.1464903#ixzz2fZvjZqre
No comments:
Post a Comment