Kenya – Siege Comes to a Close

On Tuesday the president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, declared victory in finally ending the terrorist attack on an up-scale shopping mall in Nairobi that lasted four days and left 60-some dead. Those killed include civilians and Kenyan military personnel, with the same number missing in the explosion-ravaged remains of the three-floor structure. Kenyatta commented on his people’s resolve in defeating ending the crisis:

We confronted this evil without flinching, confronted our deep grief and pain, and conquered it.

The ordeal began on Saturday when 10 to 15 militants affiliated with the Somalian terrorist group Al Shabab, having links to Al Qaeda, attacked the Westgate mall, randomly firing into the crowds then taking several hostages. Some hostages were executed by the militants after being questioned about their faith, one of which was an 8-year-old boy and a pregnant woman, and it has been reported that the group released hostages who they discovered were Muslim. Britain’s The Sun reported, incredibly, that one of the non-Muslims released was a 4-year-old boy who confronted one of the attackers saying, “You’re a very bad man.”

Five of the terrorists were killed during the response of the Kenyan military and eleven others have been arrested for possible connections to the attack. Some of the suspects are said to include a small number of American and British terror operatives, though according to US security officials the suspected involvement of the Americans named is seeming less likely as their investigation unfolds. The mall itself was practically brought to the ground by what is being explained as security forces using explosives to gain entry, though this explanation has not been confirmed by Kenyan leadership. One story released by the UK Daily Mail told of a former British marine entering the mall several times with a handgun and rescuing nearly 100 people. The man was reportedly having coffee at Westgate when the attack began, and upon realizing what was going on he sprung into heroic action. The marine’s identity has been contained for his own safety, but a friend recounted his actions:

What he did was so heroic. He was having coffee with friends when it happened. (…) He went back in 12 times and saved 100 people. Imagine going back in when you knew what was going on inside.

This act of terror by religious fundamentalists was the most brutal since the bombing of an American embassy in Nairobi back in 1998. The Westgate mayhem captivated and devastated the people of Kenya due to its widespread publication and media coverage. The attack is being investigated by the Kenyan government as well as agencies in the US and Europe to try and ascertain the backgrounds of those involved. Kenya has been an ally of the US and aided in fighting radical Islam, and Al Shabab attributed their attack in Nairobi to past Kenyan efforts in Somalia to thwart their attacks on other African nations.