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Kenyan Forces Push Assault as Mall Standoff Continues
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Hundreds of elite Kenyan troops -- backed by armored personnel carriers, helicopters, planes and security officials from Israel, France, Britain and the United States -- have amassed against a small group of Islamist militants holed up in a shopping mall where dozens of people were massacred over the weekend. But as night fell on Monday and a thick funnel of black smoke churned from the Westgate mall in central Nairobi, the militants were still holding their ground. "This will end tonight," Kenyan officials had declared as a major rescue operation got under way on Sunday evening. But shortly thereafter, three Kenyan commandos were shot dead at close range and several hostages were killed as Kenyan forces tried to move in on militants hiding in a dark corner of the mall, Western officials said. When The Standard, one of Kenya's biggest newspapers, hit the stands on Monday with the headline, "The Final Assault," the sound of gunfire and explosives was still echoing through central Nairobi, spreading even more fear among Kenyans, who have been shocked and demoralized by the events over the past three days. Several witnesses said that some of the ringleaders of the assault -- in which masked gunmen moved methodically through the crowded mall on Saturday, killing more than 60 men, women and children -- may have escaped during the initial confusion. One witness said that an assailant quickly tore off his clothes and changed into a new outfit before running out, hands raised, blending in with a crowd of fleeing civilians. Security officials in Nairobi said that two women, who were among the militants and who appeared to be directing other assailants during the killings, managed to escape after the initial stage of the attack. That assertion raised fears that well-trained terrorists could be on the loose in Nairobi. Several witnesses have said that some of the militants were clearly not African and may have been from Western countries, but American officials said they could not confirm that. Kenya's security forces have a reputation for being lowly paid and underequipped, and they seem to have been ill-prepared for a complex hostage situation against die-hard militants like this. On the other hand, the reason the Shaboobs are attacking Kenya is because the Kenyans (and Ethiopians) threw them out of Somalia. The African Union forces weren't handling the job, and the Somali forces were pathetic. According to several Western officials, the Kenyans initially rebuffed offers of assistance from the American government and turned instead to the Israelis, who dispatched advisers from the Israeli Defense Forces. The Entebbe approach versus the Boston Marathon approach. Those advisers are working closely with the Kenyan commandos inside the mall, helping plan specific tactical operations, though officials said the Israeli advisers had not engaged in any combat and had stayed out of public view. "Let us know if you need any help!" "Thanks, Moshe. Enjoy your beer! We got this!" The American, French and British officials are left with a more back-seat role from a command center just down the street from the Westgate mall, helping the Kenyans with the investigation of the attack and some intelligence matters, a high-ranking Kenyan official said Monday. "There's too much consultation going on," said the Kenyan official, who had not been authorized to speak publicly. "This should have been a small rescue operation, not preparing for war." On Monday afternoon, Kenyan security officials acknowledged that the effort to end the standoff was taking longer than expected but said that it would be over soon. "We are in charge of the situation, our people are safe, and hostages have been evacuated," said Joseph Ole Lenku, Kenya's interior cabinet secretary. Kenyan officials have said that around 10 Kenyan soldiers were injured in combat; Mr. Ole Lenku said that he was "not aware" if any had been killed. Posted by: Steve White 2013-09-24 |
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