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In pictures: Moving to end Westgate siege

Up-close with Kenya’s military as it lays siege to Nairobi mall where al-Shabab gunmen hold shoppers hostage.

A soldier prepares his kit before an assault on Al Shabab militants by the Kenyan military. The attackers from the Somalia-based group had barricaded themselves in a shopping centre and were suspected to have explosives.
By Will Swanson
Published On 23 Sep 2013

Nairobi, Kenya – An attack by al-Shabab gunmen has left at least 62 people dead and more than 175 injured in a mall in Kenya’s capital.

The gunmen, reportedly armed with assault weapons and grenades, entered the Westgate Shopping Centre at about noon local time (09:00GMT) on Saturday. 

Security forces arrived at the scene about an hour after the attack began, and stormed inside. As police and mall security engaged the attackers in a gunfight, many shoppers escaped the mall – many with severe injuries were helped by their fellow civilians. It was not known how many more remained trapped in various parts of the centre, either held hostage by al-Shabab fighters or pinned down in the cross-fire, though several took to Twitter, desperately documenting what was happening.

The Kenyan military, reportedly assisted by Western and Israeli security forces, laid siege to the mall in an attempt to save the hostages and capture the attackers.

Kenya’s interior minister, Joseph Ole Lenku, said on Monday that the Kenyan forces were in full control of the situation.

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“The process of evacuating hostages has gone on very well and we are very certain that if any, there are very very little hostages in the building. We have done search of the building and we can confirm that the hostages almost all of them have been evacuated,” said Lenku during a news conference.

Photographer Will Swanson is on site in Nairobi documenting the events.

Kenyan soldiers ready an armoured personnel carrier used to support an assault on al-Shabab militants in Nairobi on Sunday evening.
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An armoured personnel carrier from Kenya(***)s military moves into position in front of the Westgate shopping centre, the scene of an attack by al-Shabab.
Kenyan soldiers wait for orders outside the Westgate shopping centre, 24 hours after the the attack began. A stalemate developed between the armed attackers inside and the Kenyan police and military forces outside.
A Kenyan soldier takes cover behind a military vehicle as the army moves in to engage gunmen that had taken control of the Westgate Shopping Centre.
Kenyan military personnel watch and wait as their fellow soldiers move into the Westgate shopping centre complex at around 5pm on Sunday. Chain of command issues and poor communication between police and military were said to have delayed the counter-attack.
A military helicopter flies in low circles, as soldiers move in to the Westgate shopping centre.
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A large area surrounding the shopping centre was tightly cordoned off by police and locked down from late Saturday afternoon. Teargas was used to keep crowds away from the cordoned areas.
Surrounded by abandoned vehicles, a soldier waits in position in the Westgate Shopping Centre carpark, the scene of an ongoing attack by the Somali group al-Shabab.
Police and Kenyan military personnel surround the building as forces move into position for an assault against al-Shabab, the armed group which took shoppers hostage on Saturday.
Late on Sunday night, at least two ambulances left the shopping centre with casualties from the fighting. According to the Kenya Red Cross, the death toll stands at 62 and it is expected to rise.