Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has
spoken to the nation to announce three
days of mourning, and that the Westgate
hostage crisis is over.
His announcement followed another day
of confusion, contradiction, and waiting
outside the Westgate shopping mall in
Nairobi as Kenyan security forces moved
in.
“Our confrontation with the terrorists at
the Westgate mall left 240 casualties. I
report with great sadness that 61 civilians
lost their lives in the attack. Six security
officers also made the ultimate sacrifice to
defeat the criminals.
Three floors of the Westgate mall
collapsed, and there are several bodies still
trapped in the rubble, including the
terrorists,” he announced on TV.
Eleven arrests have been made, and
interrogation has already begun. An FBI
team is due to arrive shortly from the USA
to assist.
The first victims have been prepared for
burial; 51 people are still missing, and
Kenyan soliders said the floors of Westgate
were covered in blood with bodies
scattered all around.
The Kenyan interior minister has also
revealed that the operation was clearly
planned well in advance, as it appears al-
Shabaab rented a shop in Westgate,
allowing it to discreetly build up supplies
for this operation.
