Sunday, September 22, 2013
These who are killed are from
Those killed include children, with the confirmed injured varying in age
from two to 78. A number of foreign nationals were involved, with three
Brits, two French, two Americans, one Dutch, two Canadian, one
Australian, One Newzealander and one Chinese victims confirmed. The
Foreign Office in London says it has no news of British casualties but,
with around 30,000 or so Britons living in Nairobi, expects some to have
been caught up in the attack.
Chinese Friends Had Nothing To Offer.
The Kenya Defence Forces has reported that more hostages have been
rescued and the siege may come to halt as Kenya’s traditional alies the
WEST led by Israel Special Forces and USA’s marines STORMED the mall and
rescued majority of the hostages by midnight on Sunday.
The Israel special forces provided the necessary technology,logistical and on location support that was very crucial for the success so far.
Kenya’s new found Chinese allies had nothing to offer putting to doubt president Uhuru’s confidence in side-lining the West in a global arena.The terror attack has so far claimed almost 70 lives,foreign nationals and President Kenyatta’s nephew are among the dead, a sad weekend for the nation and the world.The Kenyan Defence Force tweets that it has rescued “most” of the hostages and taken control of the majority of the shopping centre. Four soldiers have been injured and taken to hospital, it says.
The Israel special forces provided the necessary technology,logistical and on location support that was very crucial for the success so far.
Kenya’s new found Chinese allies had nothing to offer putting to doubt president Uhuru’s confidence in side-lining the West in a global arena.The terror attack has so far claimed almost 70 lives,foreign nationals and President Kenyatta’s nephew are among the dead, a sad weekend for the nation and the world.The Kenyan Defence Force tweets that it has rescued “most” of the hostages and taken control of the majority of the shopping centre. Four soldiers have been injured and taken to hospital, it says.
something is wrong somewhere within our security
The battle continue in Nairobi as police and the military try to catch up with the terrorist which are believed to still hiding in some of the shops in the mall , my question remain answered this people are said to be less than 20 in the building honestly what is the logic there forces are there of all kind? something is wrong somewhere within our security? and remember they continue to kill ,
we keep our prayers to these who have lost there life in nairobi
Ask
God for forgiveness today. He is able to forgive, save and keep you.
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be saved." Acts 2:21
prayer for these who have lost the families
I have just send my donation towards helping my fellow Kenyans who have been admitted in different hospitals in Nairobi we ask you also to take a bold step send your donation towards this to save life this comes as Kenya call for calm as we wait to know the motive of the attack , we have had the AL-shabaab have claim responsibility of the attack may i also ask Kenyans at large anyone who might have any information to honestly report to the authority so as to help in investigation we all pray for these who have been admitted and also these families who have lost there loved once may got give u all carrage to overcome the situation
Journalist’s last media update
A few hours after she arrived at the Westgate shopping mall
Saturday morning, Radio Africa Group presenter Ruhila Adatia-Sood posted
several photographs on her Instagram account and linked that to
Twitter.
She was clad in a loose black top and black trousers with a blue and orange necklace completing the look.
Ruhila
was in the parking lot of the upscale mall for Sungold Sunrice
Superchef, a cooking competition sponsored by the rice brand, which she
was hosting.
She posted a total of eight photos on
Instagram, with her fans, with her colleagues and some of those who won
prizes with bags of rice in their hands.
That was her last activity on social media.
About
three hours after news of an attack on Westgate mall began spreading on
social media, the first Twitter posts about her emerged.
Of the many who lost their lives in the attack yesterday, Ruhila may be the most familiar.
Kenyans
are most likely to recognise her bubbly voice reading entertainment
news on Kiss TV, Kiss 100 and XFM. Perhaps as a sign of her popularity,
there was a page in her memory on Facebook last evening.
On
her Twitter page, Ruhila Adatia-Sood described herself as a “food
lover, thrill seeker and a bungee jump away from sanity.” “Always
looking for my next meal,” she also says on her profile on the East FM
website.
A fun-loving person, Ruhila is described on
the East FM website as a “TV presenter by day and superhero in the
evenings as I get you home in the traffic mess.”
She
adds, with a twist of that familiar fun-loving person that she,
“believes there’s not enough reality television. Farhan Akhtar (an
Indian filmmaker, writer, singer TV host and actor) is my hubby,
DiCaprio is my iceberg.”
A graduate of Rhodes University in Grahamstown in South Africa, she used to co-host The Rush on Metro East FM with Gupz Saund.
Ruhila
married Ketan Sood in January 2012 in what The Star on January 9 said
was a three-day Swahili-themed wedding. She was pregnant with their
first child.
In an interview published in The Star in
September 2012, the last-born in a family of four girls is described by
her sisters as a go-getter.
Said Farah Adatia Gomes:
“Ruhila loved reading, listening to music and watching TV though she
never really got to watch what she wanted as most of the time we used to
bully her into watching and listening to what we wanted. She was
charming and outgoing, always a leader.”
East FM, a
radio station whose target audience is Kenyan Asians, was holding a
children’s event at the roof top parking of Westgate Mall when gunmen
struck Saturday.
Information posted on the firm’s
Facebook page a few hours before the fatal shooting shows that the
occasion was the second round of the SunGold SunRice Junior Super Chef
Competition, the first of which was held at the same time and place last
Saturday.
The children competiting were to prepare a starter or main dish accompanied by a desert.
“We
are super excited!! Do join us on Saturday from 11am onwards at
Westgate roof top for the 2nd round of Sungold Sunrice SuperChef Junior!
See you there and do share this post!,” Kamal Kaur, an East FM
presenter, wrote.
Ms Kaur attended the event which she tells the Sunday Nation was “packed with kids”.
And after the competition began, Ms Kaur said they heard popping noises.
“We
heard what sounded like firecrackers,” she said, narrating how the
group then ran to the edge of the parking lot and looked over to see
people streaming out of the mall.
She then ran to find her son and they tried to get the children out through the Java service entry.
“One
man shot at my son, but he managed to duck. He was wearing blue jeans, a
black T-shirt, sunglasses and an Arabic headscarf (kaffiya) wrapped
around his head. He was holding a big automatic weapon, and I could see a
pistol sticking out of his pocket.”
East FM radio presenter Aleem Manji, who was also with Ms Kaur, was reported injured.
Israeli forces join Kenya battle to end deadly mall siege
Kenyan troops backed by Israeli forces battled
Sunday to end a siege in an upmarket shopping mall and free hostages
held by Somali militants in an attack that has so far killed 59 people.
Sporadic
gunfire could be heard as Kenyan security officials said they were
attempting to kill or capture the remaining attackers and end the
26-hour-long bloodbath at the Westgate mall.
"The
Israelis have just entered and they are rescuing the hostages and the
injured," a Kenyan security source told AFP. The Israeli foreign
ministry refused to confirm or deny its forces were involved.
Somalia's
Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels said the carnage at the part
Israeli-owned complex was in retaliation for Kenya's military
intervention in Somalia, where African Union troops are battling the
Islamists.
Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said 59
people were confirmed dead, while the Red Cross has estimated the number
of injured at around 200.
Lenku said there were still
between 10 to 15 gunmen in the shopping centre. "We believe there are
some innocent people in the building, that is why the operation is
delicate."
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta had said in a
televised address to the nation late Saturday that he had lost family
members in the attack.
"Let me make it clear. We shall
hunt down the perpetrators wherever they run to. We shall get them. We
shall punish them for this heinous crime," he vowed.
The
Westgate mall is popular with wealthy Kenyans and expatriates, and was
packed with around 1,000 shoppers when the gunmen marched in at midday
Saturday, tossed grenades and sprayed automatic gunfire at terrified
people.
Security agencies have long feared that the shopping centre could be targeted by Al Qaeda-linked groups.
The attack was the worst in Nairobi since an Al-Qaeda bombing at the US embassy killed more than 200 people in 1998.
After
a day and night of sometimes ferocious gun battles, security sources
said police and soldiers had finally "pinned down" the gunmen. The
Kenyan Red Cross appealed for blood donations and authorities urged
residents to steer clear of the area.
"We are still
battling with the attackers and our forces have managed to maroon the
attackers on one of the floors," said Kenyan military spokesman Colonel
Cyrus Oguna. "We hope to bring this to an end today."
-- Playing dead --
One teenage survivor recounted to AFP how he played dead to avoid being killed.
"I
heard screams and gunshots all over the place. I got scared. I tried to
run down the stairs and saw someone running towards the top, I ran back
and hid behind one of the cars," 18-year-old Umar Ahmed said.
In
the hours after the attack began, shocked people of all ages and races
could be seen running from the mall, some clutching babies, while others
crawled along walls to avoid stray bullets.
"They
spoke something that seemed like Arabic or Somali," said a man who
escaped the mall and gave his name only as Jay. "I saw people being
executed after being asked to say something."
Kenyan police, troops and special forces then
moved in and went shop-to-shop. Foreign security officials -- from
Israel as well as the United States and Britain -- were also seen at the
complex throughout the drama.
An AFPTV reporter said she saw at least 20 people rescued from a toy shop, some of them children taken away on stretchers.
Kenneth Kerich, who was shopping when the attack happened, described scenes of utter panic.
"I
suddenly heard gunshots and saw everyone running around so we lied
down. I saw two people who were lying down and bleeding, I think they
were hit by bullets," he said.
"The gunmen tried to fire at my head but missed. I saw at least 50 people shot," mall employee Sudjar Singh told AFP.
Among
the dead was renowned Ghanaian poet and former UN envoy Kofi Awoonor,
78, Ghanaian officials said, while his son was injured.
-- Shebab claim responsibility --
A
spokesman for Shebab said the attack was retaliation for Kenya's nearly
two-year-old military presence in war-torn Somalia in support of the
internationally backed Mogadishu government.
"We have
warned Kenya of that attack but it ignored (us), still forcefully
holding our lands... while killing our innocent civilians," Shebab
spokesman Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage said in a statement.
"If you want Kenya in peace, it will not happen as long as your boys are in our lands."
The
group also issued a string of statements via Twitter, one of them
claiming that Muslims in the centre had been "escorted out by the
Mujahideen before beginning the attack".
Israeli
interests in Kenya have come under attack before. In November 2002 there
were two simultaneous attacks in the Mombasa area. A missile targeted
an Israeli charter flight as it took off from the port city's airport,
but missed.
At the same time a car packed with
explosives smashed into the Paradise hotel, the only Israeli-owned hotel
in the Mombasa area, as Israeli tourists were checking in. Ten Kenyans
and three Israelis died.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was "appalled by the brutal attack against innocent citizens" in Nairobi.
Paris
confirmed two French citizens were among those killed in what it
condemned as a "cowardly" attack. Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper
said two Canadians, one of them a diplomat, were among the dead, while
official Chinese news agency Xinhua said one Chinese woman was killed
and her child wounded.
Two Indians and a South Korean were also among the dead.
The
United States said its citizens were reportedly among those injured by
the "despicable" act while British Foreign Secretary William Hague said
there were "undoubtedly" British nationals caught up in the siege.
The UN Security Council condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms".
TWEET FROM WITHIN CLAIM JUST IN
Hours after Twitter suspended an account that was used by Al Shabaab to claim responsibility for the Westgate attack, the group has created another account which it is using to issue further threats and claims.
The account @HSM_PressOffice updated in fluent English characteristic of previous accounts shut down by Twitter claims that the attackers have refused attempts by government of Kenya officials to negotiate with gunmen who have kept the mall under siege since Saturday afternoon.
Another handle @HSM_PRESS2 gives updates of what it claims to be live tweets from within Westgate.
The account @HSM_PressOffice updated in fluent English characteristic of previous accounts shut down by Twitter claims that the attackers have refused attempts by government of Kenya officials to negotiate with gunmen who have kept the mall under siege since Saturday afternoon.
Another handle @HSM_PRESS2 gives updates of what it claims to be live tweets from within Westgate.
UNITED IN PAIN AS WE CALL UPON KENYANS TO REMAIN CALM
President Uhuru Kenyatta will today 22nd September, 2013 address a press
conference at State House at 3pm following the terror attack at
Westgate Mall which
The president will be joined by Opposition leaders Raila Odinga of Cord and UDF a€™s Musalia Mudavadi, a gesture of unity which bring the country a€™s leadership together to address the security concerns after the devastating terror attack.
A statement issued from State House has confirmed that the live address to the nation will be broadcast at 3pm as the country watches the final efforts to rescue hostages holed up in the Westgate shopping Mall more that 26 hours after the attack on Saturday afternoon by unknown gunmen.
President Uhuru said Saturday that he was among those who have lost relatives in the attack.
The joint platform to be shared between the Jubilee leadership and the Opposition shows the unity of Kenyans in trying to find lasting solutions to rising cases of insecurity visited by terror groups. The Opposition and Jubilee have been attacking each other over various approaches to policies of the new government.
The news of terror attacks has also taken the focus of the country from the International Criminal Court cases of crimes against humanity where the Deputy President William Ruto is undergoing trial alongside a radio presenter Joshua Sang€™.
.
The president will be joined by Opposition leaders Raila Odinga of Cord and UDF a€™s Musalia Mudavadi, a gesture of unity which bring the country a€™s leadership together to address the security concerns after the devastating terror attack.
A statement issued from State House has confirmed that the live address to the nation will be broadcast at 3pm as the country watches the final efforts to rescue hostages holed up in the Westgate shopping Mall more that 26 hours after the attack on Saturday afternoon by unknown gunmen.
President Uhuru said Saturday that he was among those who have lost relatives in the attack.
The joint platform to be shared between the Jubilee leadership and the Opposition shows the unity of Kenyans in trying to find lasting solutions to rising cases of insecurity visited by terror groups. The Opposition and Jubilee have been attacking each other over various approaches to policies of the new government.
The news of terror attacks has also taken the focus of the country from the International Criminal Court cases of crimes against humanity where the Deputy President William Ruto is undergoing trial alongside a radio presenter Joshua Sang€™.
.
A WORD OF THE EYE WITNESS
A survivor of the Westgate Mall siege has recounted how the attackers
gained access to the mall moments before the attack. The witness, Ben
Mulwa who said a bullet aimed at his head missed by a millimetre
narrated that he saw four men armed with long guns enter the mall
through the basement parking lot.
Mulwa said the men had keffiyeh (a kind of checked scarf popularised by former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat) wrapped around their necks.
The gunmen aimed at security guards who they eliminated through shooting before accessing other parts of the building.
Each of the four gunmen also had a chain of ammunition wrapped around their chests according to the eyewitness who also suffered a bullet injury to his knee.
It is not yet clear how other and how many gunmen accessed the building.
Mulwa said the men had keffiyeh (a kind of checked scarf popularised by former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat) wrapped around their necks.
The gunmen aimed at security guards who they eliminated through shooting before accessing other parts of the building.
Each of the four gunmen also had a chain of ammunition wrapped around their chests according to the eyewitness who also suffered a bullet injury to his knee.
It is not yet clear how other and how many gunmen accessed the building.
truth will be known to all
Nothing is a secret to God. "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts." Proverbs 21:2
let's pray for fellow kenyans
Today,
let us pray for one another. "Confess your faults one to another, and
pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16
praise the name of god
God
created you with a purpose in mind. "I will praise thee; for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my
soul knoweth right well." Psalms 139:14
GHANIAN PROFESSOR KOFI AWOONOR KILLED IN THE NAIROBI CITY MALL ATTACK
Professor Kofi Awoonor a Ghanaian citizen and former Professor at the University of Ghana has reportedly been killed in the Westgate mall attack on Saturday September 21, 2013.
The professor also a poet and author was allegedly in the country to attend a conference. According to BBC the Ghanaian poet & author was among the 39 killed in the attack at the Westgate Shopping Mall.
He died from injuries sustained during the attack that Somali militant group Al-Shabab claimed responsibility.
Rescue operations are still underway at the westgate mall.
The professor also a poet and author was allegedly in the country to attend a conference. According to BBC the Ghanaian poet & author was among the 39 killed in the attack at the Westgate Shopping Mall.
He died from injuries sustained during the attack that Somali militant group Al-Shabab claimed responsibility.
Rescue operations are still underway at the westgate mall.
LEADERS COUNTUNUE TO CONDEM THE ATTACK
former foreign affair minister and now the Bungoma senator arrive at the city mall join other leaders in condemning the terror attack on innocent civilians in Kenya
TWITTER BLOCK THE AL-SHABAAB ACCOUNT
A twitter account that was used by Al Shabaab militia
to claim responsibility for Saturday attack at Nairobi’s Westgate Mall
has been suspended. The account which had a handle @HSM_Press was also
used to issue further threats to the Kenyan government and public
following the siege that left 39 people dead and more than 150 injured.
This was the third time twitter suspended an English
account attributed to the Somalia based militia in incidences relating
to Kenya.
In January 2013 another handle @HSMPress1 was suspended
after the group used it to post a threat that they intended to kill
Kenyan hostages that were in their possession for eighteen months. Two
of the hostages a former District Officer and a Registration of Persons
Clerk were released in August this year.
In September 2012 another handle @HSMPress was removed
from the cyberspace after the militia used it to post what it claimed to
be bodies of four Kenyan soldiers they claimed they had killed in a
battle in the town of Afmadow, Somalia.
Al Shabaab started posting their messages in English on
twitter late 2011 to counter Kenya Military Spokesman Major Emmanuel
Chirchir’s (@MajorEChirChir) updates regarding Operation Linda Nchi that
was launched in October that year to flash out the radical group from
areas they were holding in Somalia and using to access Kenya.
In all their English twitter accounts the groups has
been seen to maintain the initials HSM- in full Harakat Al Shabaab Al
Mujahedeen which translates to Movement of the Striving Youth (the Al is
not visible because in Arabic ‘Al’ which is similar to article ‘the’ in
English is silent when it precedes some word).
Already there is another similar active account which was up immediately after Saturday’s suspension of @HSM_Press.
FORMER KENYA PRIME MINISTER ARRIVE AT THE CITY MALL CONDEM THE ATTACK
Kenya former prime minister join other leaders to condemn the terror attack on innocent civilians in Kenya
GOD SAVE KENYANS
With
the Lord on your side, you can claim your victory. "Now the Lord is that
Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2
Corinthians 3:17
DONATE BLOOD NOW AND ALSO GIVE ANY INFORMATION YOU MAY HAVE
The appeal for all Kenyans kindly visit the designated places put in place donate blood to save our fellow brothers and sisters who have been admitted in varies hospitals in Kenya let's help to save life donate blood now, we also ask Kenyans to give any information they might have to the security personnel to let them deep into the mater so us top bring all terrors to book
GOD SAVE KENYA
AL
SHABAAB claims responsibility for Westgate attack. A second attack took
place at Mogadishu’s Bakata market at 11am, same time as Nairobi one
Let me know if your safe brother
Have not hard from my brother who lives in Nairobi i hope god guide him trying all ways to get in torch with him just to make sure he is safe
GIVE KENYANS A HOTLINE NUMBERS TO GIVE INFORMATION ANYONE MIGHT HAVE OR SEEN
CAN THE INSPECTOR OF POLICE IN KENYA AND THE SECURITY PERSONNEL GIVE THE HOT LINE NUMBERS TO KENYANS OF GOOD WILL TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION THEY MIGHT HAVE SO AS TO HELP IN KNOWING THE MOTIVE OF THE ATTACK
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