Within a short time we were getting reports that there were twenty confirmed dead people. That number proceeded to increase and by Monday morning the news was that there were sixty-eight people confirmed dead. By Monday morning, the Kenya police and the Kenya army who had been trying to flush out the terrorists still hadn't captured the terrorists.
Sometime during the day on Saturday, the day it all started, the Al Shabaab terrorist group claimed responsibility for the killing. From what I've gathered, this was in retaliation for the invasion of Somalia by Kenyan forces. An invasion caused by the instability around the Kenya-Somali border.
By Monday, I was still waiting to hear what the Al Shabaab group wanted. They had some hostages in the mall but weren't making demands of any kind. Unlike most terrorist strikes, this one is quite bizarre. You'd expect the mayhem and havoc to result in maximum casualties at which end the terrorists would escape, die on site, or demand some sort of ransom, at least so that they can get out.
Not in this case. Not a peep from them. In fact, the single terrorist that was captured died of his injuries in hospital -- or was it before he got there? I forget.
In any case this attack is different from the one that Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for in the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. Two hundred people lost their lives in that one in a single bombing. That's the sort of terrorism you mostly hear about. The quick in-and-out type. Not this siege that lasts days and days. Seems sort of medieval. I realise that the police and the army don't want to rush in and cause more innocent civilians to die, but given the fact that the terrorists area holed up inside a Nakumat store in the mall, they will have plenty of food and water.
A friend of mine told me that religion poisons everything. He took this from Christopher Hitchens I'm sure. I've read the book. I read that on the Saturday that the terrorists walked into the mall, they asked all the Muslims to leave shooting at the non-Muslims. They supposedly identified the Muslims by asking them a question. The question was, "who was Muhammad's mother?" So clearly this was a religious war, whether the Muslim organisations will believe it to be so. If Christians were to walk into an establishment and start shooting Muslims, of course by first validating the Christians by asking them who was Jesus' mother, that would also be a religious war. It would also be a great time for good Christians to reconsider their choice of faith.
Kenya still sits in a precarious position as far as Al Shabaab is concerned. Even though there are many Somali Muslims who live in Kenya, many who were born there, many who run successful businesses there, including many who hold high government positions, it's still problematic that Kenya is so accessible to Al Shabaab.
President Uhuru Kenyatta came out with strong words during the crisis. He told Kenyans that we would not be intimidated by this act. In his words, "terrorism in and of itself, is a philosophy of cowards." This I totally agree with. Especially in the case of Al Shabaab where religious fanaticism has blinded an entire group of people. I find this disturbing. We are all brainwashed to some extent to follow some herd mentality. Whether it's in the way we obey western values, how we conduct ourselves, our business, raise our children or practise spirituality. Nobody stands alone. Is unique. Is one of a kind. But religious fanaticism is threat especially in the hands of maniacs.
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