KENYA: Nairobi residents breathe a sigh of relief after Kenyan security forces announced they were in control of a shopping mall seized by Islamist fighters

Record ID: 353969

  • Title: KENYA: Nairobi residents breathe a sigh of relief after Kenyan security forces announced they were in control of a shopping mall seized by Islamist fighters
  • Date: 24th September 2013
  • Summary: NEWSPAPER HEADLINES FRONT PAGE OF "THE STAR" NEWSPAPER WITH THE HEADLINE "WAS BRITISH WOMAN AMONG TERRORISTS?" ANOTHER SHOT OF FRONT PAGE OF "THE STAR" NEWSPAPER SHOWING A FRAME GRAB FROM A SECURITY CAMERA SHOWING TWO OF THE GUNMEN INSIDE THE MALL DURING THE SIEGE FRONT PAGE OF "THE STANDARD" NEWSPAPER WITH HEADLINE "DEADLY STANDOFF"
  • Embargoed: 9th October 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA21TI58PFB60UDQ3ZBSAJ9FDTK
  • Story Text: There was a sigh of relief among residents in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Tuesday (September 24) after security forces announced they had secured a shopping mall attacked by al Shabaab militants.
    Earlier on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry had said security forces were searching for anyone left behind in the mall that was now in their control, and that all the hostages had been released.

    "I think the government did a really good job although it took some time but you have to look at the positive side. They were able to contain the situation, the hostages that were being kept there are now free," said Nairobi resident Anthony Kamani.
    But in its Twitter account on Tuesday, al Shabaab said its militants were still holding out inside the mall and were still alive.
    The al Qaeda-aligned al Shabaab group stormed into the Westgate shopping centre during a busy Saturday lunchtime, spraying bullets and tossing grenades.
    At least 62 people were killed during the attack in the mall which is popular among Westerners and Kenyans.
    A trickle of survivors left on Monday (September 23), but the fate of those still missing was unclear. It was also unclear how many of the militants had been killed or captured.

    "From yesterday, we've had terrifying results like the hostages were still inside and we didn't know what's going to happen. But now, now that has been secured, and all the hostages have been set free, I feel good because the menace is out," said Nairobi resident Alan Rotich.
    One photograph on the front page of a Kenyan newspaper showed an image taken from a security camera showing two of the gunmen walking in the mall during the siege.
    Conflicting comments have fuelled speculation about the attackers' identity. While the foreign minister said there was a woman attacker killed, Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku had said on Monday they were all men but some had dressed as women.
    A Kenyan intelligence officer and two soldiers also told Reuters that one of the dead militants was a white woman, likely fuel speculation that she is the wanted widow of one of the suicide bombers who together killed more than 50 people on London's transport system in 2005.
    Called the "white widow" by the British press, Samantha Lewthwaite is wanted in connection with an alleged plot to attack hotels and restaurants in Kenya. Asked if the dead woman was Lewthwaite, the intelligence officer said: "We don't know."
    From Mali to Algeria, Nigeria to Kenya, violent Islamist groups - tapping into local poverty, conflict, inequality or exclusion but espousing a similar anti-Western, anti-Christian creed - are striking at state authority and international interests, both economic and political.
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