'The mall attack ... was against us, too'

Deadly Nairobi siege unites Kenyans and Chinese in grief

As Kenya began three days of mourning on Sept 25 for at least 67 people killed in the siege of a Nairobi mall, it was unclear how many more hostages may have died with the Somali Islamist attackers buried in the rubble.

Chinese experts who have followed the siege say it underlines the increased threat of terrorism in Africa following attacks elsewhere in the continent this year.

Declaring final victory over the al-Qaida-linked gunmen from al Shabaab who stormed the Westgate shopping center on Sept 21, President Uhuru Kenyatta said three floors in a part of the mall had collapsed near the end of the operation, leaving an unknown number of bodies under steel and concrete.

It was unclear what caused the structure to come down.

Five of the attackers had been shot dead, Kenyatta said, and six security personnel died in the four days of fighting.

Kenyan officials declined to say how many of the 63 people the Red Cross had earlier classed as unaccounted for might also have died in a showdown with guerrillas, who had threatened to kill their hostages and go down fighting.

Eleven people suspected of involvement in the assault and siege were in custody, Kenyatta said.

It was unclear whether intelligence reports of US or British gunmen would be confirmed. Al Shabaab denied that any women took part, after British sources said the fugitive widow of one of the 2005 London suicide bombers might have had some role.

The mall, which was an imposing, Israeli-built symbol of a new prosperity for some in Africa, lay largely silent overnight on Sept 25, after days of gunfire, explosions and bloodshed.

"The operation is now over," Kenyatta told Kenyans in a television address. "We have ashamed and defeated our attackers."

Li Wei, director of the Center for Counter-Terrorism Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said the duration and nature of the attack showed the terrorists had been well prepared.

After attacks this year in Algeria and Nigeria, Li said, terrorist forces had a heavy presence in the north, east and west of the continent.

"They are using all forms of terrorism."

Although the Nairobi mall attack was the deadliest in the country since 1998, when the US embassy in the capital was bombed by al-Qaida, killing more than 200, the threat of terrorism in Kenya is not particularly acute compared with that in other African countries, Li said.

"However, Kenya should strengthen its capability in handling the risks of large-scale attacks."

Yuan Wu, an expert on Africa with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said reports by Western media on the Kenyan attack revealed pessimism about the future of the continent.

Conflict and turmoil in the 1990s partly explained the setting up of the African Union, he said.

"This attack has raised a severe challenge to the security of African countries."

Police said the attack began at lunchtime on a Saturday, a busy time, as the attackers sprayed bullets and threw grenades.

Some of the 63 people reported to the Red Cross as still missing may simply not have been at the mall, or may have later made it home without the agency being made aware. But some, at least, appear to have been held hostage.

"There are several bodies trapped in the rubble, including the terrorists," Kenyatta said. On the weekend of the attack he had said there were between 10 and 15 attackers holed up in the mall.

People of many nationalities have already been named among the dead. One of those was an unidentified Chinese woman, 38, whose young son was injured in the attack, said Wu Shifan, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Nairobi. The boy was in hospital and his condition was stable, Wu said.

The mall was a favorite with expatriates, and it was unclear on Sept 26 how many foreigners might still be missing.

Survivors of the assault told tales of horror and narrow escapes. Some made it out after hours, even days, of hiding in terror. The Sun newspaper in Britain quoted the uncle of a British four-year-old as saying his nephew had told one of the attackers "You're a very bad man" as the gunman let some children and their mother go.

A British security source said it was possible that Samantha Lewthwaite, widow of Germaine Lindsay, one of the London suicide bombers of July 7 2005, was involved in the Nairobi siege in some way. "It is a possibility. But nothing definitive or conclusive yet."

Lewthwaite is wanted over an alleged plot to attack hotels and restaurants in Kenya.

Making no mention of gunmen still in the mall, al Shabaab also drew a link to the most recent Islamist attack in London, when a soldier was stabbed to death on a busy street in May in the suburb of Woolwich. Michael Adebolajo and a fellow British Muslim convert of Nigerian descent face trial for murder.

"It's an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," an al Shabaab Twitter post said. "Remember Mujahid Adebolajo? This is what he meant."

Li Wei of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations said the assailants were mainly from Kenya's neighbor Somalia.

Though anti-terrorism efforts are taking effect in Somalia, the world has to provide more aid to help Somalia eradicate the terrorists, he said.

"That is fundamental."

On Sept 23, two days after the attack, many Chinese working in Kenya gathered to donate blood at Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service for the victims.

The China General Chamber of Commerce in Eastern Africa and the Kenya Overseas Chinese Association appealed to all Chinese working and living in Kenya to donate blood and money.

A spokesman for the transfusion service said: "We appreciate what the Chinese people have done today. This makes local people feel they are not alone. We have friends from around the world."

Qian Zengde, vice-chairman of the China General Chamber of Commerce, who runs a hotel in Nairobi, provided meals to donors. He and his wife also donated blood.

"We employ many locals, and it's like a family to us," he said. "The mall attack was not just against Kenyans - it was against us, too."

Gao Lili, managing director of a restaurant, said she had donated blood for the first time.

"We have been here for many years. Nairobi is our home. We have to do something to help our local friends to overcome this horrible attack."

After the attack ended, the Kenyan government appealed to tourists not to cancel trips to the country.

"Our country is safe," said Fred Matiang'i, the cabinet secretary for information and technology. "Our government is taking all possible measures. Our visitors and our businesses are safe. For tourists from abroad who may already have booked hotels and trips, there's no cause to cancel your plans."

However, Phyllis Kandie, the cabinet secretary for East Africa, commerce and tourism, said that with Western countries issuing warnings about traveling to Kenya, the country's tourism industry is likely to suffer as a result of the mall siege.

"We urge all our local and international visitors to be sure that the rest of the country is peaceful and there's no need for cancellation of any planned travels or visits to the country."

Agencies contributed to the story.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/27/2013 page4)