“The Secretary-General has spoken to President Uhuru Kenyatta and expressed his concern as well as offering his solidarity as the Kenyan authorities handle the incident,” a statement from his office indicated.
The British Government through Foreign Secretary William Hague joined the international community in condoling with the families of the 30 victims who have so far lost their lives and those injured.
He assured the Kenyan public that the British government would help in any way it could to help prevent further loss of life.
“We are in close contact with the Kenyan authorities on the ground in Kenya and at ministerial level in the United Kingdom. The prime consideration at present is the welfare of members of the public caught up in this incident,” he said in a ministerial statement.
Proprietors of various stores within the Westgate mall sent their condolence messages, as Nakumatt Holdings took the precautionary step of closing all its stores in the Central Business District and its 24-hour stores.
A statement from ArtCaffe indicated that all their members of staff had been evacuated although some were injured.
“The armed gunmen, who entered Westgate mall through the main entrance, opened fire on the customers and staff in the mall in almost all the shops and restaurants, beginning from the main entrance and working upwards. On hearing the gunfire, patrons and staff in the mall ran for cover at every level,” the ArtCaffe management recounted.
Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia has in the meantime called for blood donations to cater for the tens of people who have been admitted to the MP Shah and Aga Khan hospitals.
It is as yet unclear how many are still held hostage in the mall but the Kenya Defence Forces have been called in to contain the situation.
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