Kenya’s president says mall siege over

Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta has announced that the siege of Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall has ended, calling for three days of national mourning for the victims of the four-day national ordeal.

Kenyatta said on Tuesday that 67 people had been killed in the attacks by al-Qaeda linked gunmen, and added five members of the armed group had been killed by gunfire and another 11 suspects are currently being held in custody.

He did not, however, make any mention of whether any remaining hostages had been released by the attackers.

Kenya has “shamed and defeated our attackers” but the “losses are immense”, he said in a televised address to the nation.

Sixy-one civilians and six members of the security forces had died in the four-day siege which Somali based armed group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for.

“Al-Shabab are looking for relevance on an international scale - especially after a change of leadership - and is looking to send the message that they are still a force to be reckoned with,” Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Adow reported from Nairobi.

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