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Several attackers and trapped civilians were believed to still be inside the large four-storey shopping centre more than two hours after the attack began/MUTHONI NJUKI

Kenya

At least six killed in Nairobi mall gun attack

Vehicles riddled with bullet holes were left abandoned in front of the mall as police instructed residents of the Westlands neighbourhood to stay away from the scene.

“There’s an incident at Westgate and we’re urging the public to keep off the area,” Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo said.

“Our officers are on the ground carrying out an evacuation of those inside as they search for the attackers who are said to be inside,” he said.

“We have managed to evacuate some people to safety. We urge Kenyans to avoid the area as we pursue the thugs,” Kenya’s Interior Ministry said on Twitter.

Local television reports, quoting witnesses trapped inside the mall, said a number of people had been taken hostage while others were hiding inside shops.

The Westgate mall, which opened in 2007, has restaurants, cafes, banks, a large supermarket and a cinema that attract thousands of people every day and have made it a Nairobi landmark.

It is popular with the large expatriate community living in the residential neighbourhoods around it, including with foreign staff from the United Nations, which has its third largest global centre nearby.

Security agencies have regularly included the Westgate shopping centre on lists of sites they feared could be targeted by Al Qaeda-linked groups.

The Somali insurgents from the Shabaab group, which claims allegiance to Al-Qaeda, have repeatedly threatened to strike at the heart of Kenya in retaliation for Nairobi’s military involvement alongside the government they are trying to overthrow.

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