The battle to regain control of the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi has continued into its third day, with reports of fresh gunfire and explosions heard on the scene.
69 people have been confirmed dead from the attack, and another 170 injured, with an unknown number of hostages still held by the al-Shabab-linked militants inside the building. Four Kenyan soldiers have reportedly also been injured in the attack.
10-15 militants, armed with AK-47 automatic weapons and hand-grenades are believed to still be inside, although the it is impossible to be certain of the numbers at this time.
The Kenyan military have said that they have regained control of much of the shopping mall, and rescued the majority of the hostages, saying on Twitter:
Most of the hostages have been rescued and security forces have taken control of most parts of the building
— Kenya Defence Forces (@kdfinfo) September 22, 2013
They are now attempting to move through the building and flush out the attackers, but troops have been receiving heavy automatic gunfire from vantage points within the building, which has resulted in the slow progress.
In a press conference yesterday, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta gave an update on the situation inside the Westgate mall, saying:
“The criminals are now located in one place within the building
With the professionals on site, we have as good a chance to neutralise the terrorists as we could hope for”
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has adjourned the trial of Kenya’s recently elected Deputy President William Ruto for a week so that he can return to Nairobi and help the country deal with this crisis. Ruto is currently on trial over his involvement in the violence which marred the days following Kenya’s 2007 elections. President Kenyatta is also due to stand trial over his role in the violence in November.
Islamic militant group al-Shabab have claimed responsibility for the attack, which has come after repeated threats to Kenya that and attack would happen on their soil if they did not pull their troops out of the African Union (AU) force currently fighting against Fundamentalist Islamic groups in Somalia.
