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Two al-Shabab fighters have been killed in the ongoing military raid on a Nairobi mall and nearly all hostages have been freed, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Interior Ole Lenku said. “We don’t want to give you a definitive position on when we think the process will come to an end, but we are doing anything reasonably possible, cautiously though, to bring this process to an end,” Lenku told a news conference.
Black smoke has been seen rising and several blasts have been heard in the area of a Nairobi shopping mall where al-Shabab fighters are holed up with hostages.
Lenku said a fire inside the mall was the work of the fighters, but that it would soon be extinguished.
Television images yesterday showed troops in camouflage running to new positions, while an armoured personnel carrier was also seen shifting position.
Journalists and their cameras have been moved and no longer have a clear sight of the mall, but can see its perimeter.
“It is us who caused the explosion, we are trying to get in through the roof,” one security official, who asked not to be named, said at the scene. There was no official comment.
“Police are ready with their guns cocked,” said Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi, reporting from within the vicinity of the shopping complex.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that it was adjourning the trial of Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto on charges relating to violence following elections in 2007.
The court said Ruto would be excused from the trial, which began earlier this month, for a week to return to Nairobi to help deal with the crisis.
On Sunday, Kenyan security forces claimed to have rescued most of the hostages, but an unknown number remain trapped inside.
Armed men belonging to the Somali group had stormed the Westgate shopping centre on Saturday using grenades and assault rifles. The attack left at least 68 people dead and more than 150 wounded, according to the Red Cross.
Col Cyrus Oguna, a military spokesman, told Al Jazeera that most of the hostages had been released, though he did not provide an exact number. “Most of them were dehydrated and suffering from shock,” Oguna said, adding that four Kenyan soldiers were injured in the rescue operation.
Kenya’s Disaster Operation Centre said “our forces will prevail”. Security forces also said that most parts of the mall had also been secured.
Meanwhile, al-Shabab, which has claimed responsibility for the siege, said on its Twitter feed that the “Kenyan government shall be held responsible for any loss of life as a result of such an imprudent move. The call is yours!”
It said “Kenyan forces who’ve just attempted a roof landing must know that they are jeopardising the lives of hostages.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera later, Abu Omar, a spokesman, for the group, ruled out any negotiations over the hostages being held and said they would meet their fate.
Al-Shabab said it carried out the attack in which they specifically targeted non-Muslims. Kenyans and foreigners were among those confirmed dead, including French, Britons, Indians, Canadians, Chinese and a renowned Ghanaian poet.
The Somali group is demanding that Kenya pull troops back from its neighbour, where al-Shabab is fighting against the government.
As daylight broke on Sunday, several people in hiding in the mall escaped to safety, suggesting that not everyone who was still inside was being held by the al-Shabab fighters
Cecile Ndwiga said she had been hiding under a car in the basement parking garage.
What led to the al-Shabab attack on the Kenyan mall? “I called my husband to ask the soldiers to come and rescue me. Because I couldn’t just walk out anyhow. The shootout was all over here, left, right, just gun shots,” she said.
Security forces had pushed curious crowds far back from the mall. Hundreds of residents gathered on a high ridge above the mall to watch for any activity.
The United Nations Security Council condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms,” and reminded Kenya that any response must comply with international human rights law.
In a live television statement late on Saturday, President Uhuru Kenyatta said that the country had “overcome terrorist attacks before” and vowed to “hunt down the perpetrators wherever they run to”.
“In fact, we have fought courageously and defeated them within and outside our borders – we will defeat them again,” said Kenyatta.
Kenyatta said his nephew and his fiancee were among those killed in the mall. “They shall not get away with their despicable and beastly acts,” he said. — Al Jazeera
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