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President Uhuru Kenyatta announced an end to the 80-hour bloodbath late Tuesday, with the "immense" loss of 61 civilians and six members of the security forces/AFP

Kenya

Kenya mourns as searchers scour mall for siege victims

The siege developed into a hostage drama with Shabaab claiming civilians were being held, and Kenyan special forces describing the stand-off as delicate — with gunman running and hiding in supermarket aisles, store rooms, a cinema and casino and placing booby traps.

Security has also been beefed up across the capital, but away from the burnt out Westgate complex, people in Nairobi appeared to be trying to return back, as far as possible, to everyday life.

“It is about getting on and not letting the terrorists win by disturbing our lives any more,” said student James Kamau, reading a newspaper full of photographs of heavily armed Kenyan soldiers staging the final operations to clear the mall of attackers late on Tuesday.

“For those not directly mourning their family members killed, we should show people we are not going to let this change us.”

Kenyatta said that forensic teams were working to also “establish the nationalities of all those involved” amid reports Americans and a British woman were among the insurgents.

There has been growing media speculation at the possible role of wanted British extremist Samantha Lewthwaite, daughter of a British soldier and widow of suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay, who blew himself up on a London Underground train on July 7, 2005, killing 26 people.

Kenyan newspapers called for the government to provide people with as much information about those killed as soon as possible.

“The government should just tell us the truth,” The Star newspaper wrote. “They should not try to sanitise… a terrible situation. The public will not blame them.”

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