Kenya Mall Attack Remains Unresolved

Kenya Mall Attack Remains Unresolved

As the Kenya mall attack pushed toward its third day, the militants remained at large within the complex in Nairobi. Forty people are believed to be still trapped inside the upscale shopping center.

Kenyan security forces pushed into the mall on Sunday anticipating to end the siege started by around fifteen armed militants. The militants attacked the mall through three entrances last Saturday. The objective of the militants in the Kenya mall attack appeared to kill the people inside the mall rather than stealing, according to a stocker of the Nakumatt supermarket.

The stocker, Edwin Omoding, said the attackers revealed that they were members of a militant group from Somali, the al-Shabaab. The group has been threatening Kenya for sending troops to provide aid the government in Somali.

Sixty eight people were confirmed to have died in the attack, according to Red Cross spokesman, Peter Outa. Among the dead were two French woman, two Canadians, and three Britons. A prominent poet from Ghana was also one of the casualties in the attack.

Peter Ouma, a construction worker, said that they tried to run away through the main gate of the Westgate mall. However, attackers also came through the gate. They went to the basement before meeting another group of attackers.

The Kenya mall attack was the deadliest attack since the bombing of the US embassy in 1998. Security forces tried to encircle the attackers even without any knowledge of their number. The Red Cross revealed that 49 people were reported missing by during the attack. They are believed to be trapped inside the complex.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said the attack was a cowardly terroristic attack and promised to continue fighting against militants in Somalia.

The government is trying to minimize the effects of the attack to the biggest economy in East Africa. A number of nonprofit and multinational organizations consider Nairobi as the hub when they do business in Africa. The Kenya mall attack leaves the future of the country uncertain even as it has weathered numerous instance of domestic turmoil since the start of the year.

Posted by James Fried on Tuesday September 24 2013, 9:51 AM EST. Ref: WSJ. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0