Kenyans recall mall attack terror
- 10 years ago
Nairobi residents will never forget the terror that ripped through their city one year ago today. Nor will they forget the victims of the Westgate mall massacre.
While some shoppers escaped, others remained trapped inside with al Shabaab militants shooting and throwing grenades on the premises.
Police responding to the scene on September 21st found themselves on the frontlines of the war raging inside the mall.
Adding to the danger was the difficulties in determining who was friend or foe.
Panicked survivors rushed outside, as others were caught in the cross-fire -- with police escorting some of the most vulnerable.
But much of the complex remained a bloody scene, with bodies strewn over the floors... and gunfire punctuating moments of uneasy silence.
On the fourth day of the siege, security forces launched a renewed assault and cleared out the last of the militants.
Their eventual victory was not without significant casualties.
(SOUNDBIT
While some shoppers escaped, others remained trapped inside with al Shabaab militants shooting and throwing grenades on the premises.
Police responding to the scene on September 21st found themselves on the frontlines of the war raging inside the mall.
Adding to the danger was the difficulties in determining who was friend or foe.
Panicked survivors rushed outside, as others were caught in the cross-fire -- with police escorting some of the most vulnerable.
But much of the complex remained a bloody scene, with bodies strewn over the floors... and gunfire punctuating moments of uneasy silence.
On the fourth day of the siege, security forces launched a renewed assault and cleared out the last of the militants.
Their eventual victory was not without significant casualties.
(SOUNDBIT