WarSclerotic

Assad: Syria will allow access to chemical sites – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Syrian president says his government will allow international experts access to its chemical weapons sites but that rebels might block them from reaching locations

Reuters

In an interview with Chinese state TV broadcast Monday, Bashar Assad said Damascus was dedicated to implement a Russia-US agreement to surrender its chemical weapons to international control.

He noted that though his government won’t have “any problem” taking experts to sites where the weapons are kept and will allow international experts access to its chemical weapons sites, rebels might block them from reaching some of the locations.

Some places might be difficult to reach due to ongoing fighting or the “local security situation,” the Syrian president added, stressing: “I’m referring to places where militants exist. Those militants might want to stop the experts’ arrival.”

Nevertheless, Assad denounced the United States, France and Britain for submitting a draft resolution to the UN Security Council to place Syrian chemical weapons under international control, saying they were fighting an “imaginary enemy”.

Assad, who was interviewed by China’s state television CCTV in Damascus, the Syrian capital, said he was not concerned about the draft resolution and that China and Russia would “ensure any excuse for military action against Syria will not stand.”

An article posted on the CCTV website on Monday quoted Assad as saying, “I am not concerned. Since its independence, Syria has been committed to all the treaties it has signed. We will honor everything that we have agreed to do.

“And more importantly, I want to say, by submitting the draft to the UN Security Council, or by urging the US and Russia to agree on a deal, the US, France, and Britain are just trying to make themselves winners in a war against a Syria which is their imaginary enemy.”

Russia and the United States brokered the deal to put Assad’s chemical arms stockpiles under international control to avert possible US military strikes that Washington said would punish Assad for a poison gas attack last month.

Washington has blamed Assad’s forces for the attack, which it said killed more than 1,400 people. Assad blamed rebels battling to overthrow him, saying it made no sense for his forces to use chemical weapons when they were gaining the upper hand and while UN chemical inspectors were staying in central Damascus.

Under the US-Russian deal, Assad must account for his chemical weapons stockpiles within a week and see them destroyed by the middle of next year.

Envoys from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – met last Thursday for a third straight day to discuss a draft resolution Western powers hope will make the deal legally binding.

Russia, a key ally of Assad, is unhappy with the draft’s references to possible punitive measures against Syria under Article 7 of the UN charter, which talks about UN authorization for sanctions and military force.

In the interview, Assad said gunmen could hinder the access of chemical weapons inspectors to sites where the weapons were stored and made.

He added, “We know that these terrorists are obeying the orders of other countries and these countries do drive these terrorists to commit acts that could get the Syrian government blamed for hindering this agreement.”

Asked whether Syria had lots of chemical weapons, Assad said: “Syria has been manufacturing chemical weapons for decades so it’s normal for there to be large quantities in the country.

“We are a nation at war, we’ve got territories that have been occupied for more than 40 years, but in any case, the Syrian army is trained to fight using conventional weapons.”

He said the chemical weapons were stored “under special conditions to prevent any terrorist for other destructive forces from tampering with them, that is, destructive forces that could come from other countries.”

“So there is nothing to worry about. The chemical weapons in Syria are in a safe place that is secure and under the control of the Syrian army.”

Separately, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that China was willing to send experts to help in the Syrian chemical weapons destruction process, and reiterated that a political solution was the only way to solve the crisis in Syria.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on Saturday Syria had handed over information about its chemical weapons arsenal, meeting the first deadline of the disarmament operation.

Russia’s Putin warns of Islamic militant spillover from Syria into ex-Soviet bloc | JPost | Israel News.

Israel Hayom | Decentralized Islamic terror.

Dr. Reuven Berko

Israel Hayom | By way of deception shalt thou make peace?.

Boaz Bismuth

UN General Assembly could see real breakthroughs on peace process, Syria and Iran | JPost | Israel News.

Report: Netanyahu to say at UN, Iranian diplomacy akin to N. Korean nuclear ploys | JPost | Israel News.

Obama’s UN agenda: Iran, Syria, Israel | The Times of Israel.

The president needs to be wary that diplomatic opportunities don’t morph into stalling tactics

President Barack Obama, Sept. 20, 2013. (AP/Orlin Wagner)

NEW YORK (AP) — President Barack Obama will open meetings at the United Nations on Monday focusing on diplomatic opportunities on three vexing issues: Iran’s disputed nuclear program, Syria’s chemical weapons use, and elusive peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

All three pathways are fraught with potential pitfalls and hinge on cooperation from often unreliable nations. Obama also risks being branded as naive and misguided if the efforts fail, particularly in Syria, where he’s used the prospect of diplomacy to put off a military strike in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack.

Still, the recent developments mark a significant shift on a trio of issues that have long proved problematic for Obama at the United Nations. His former Iranian counterpart used the annual UN General Assembly meetings, which open Monday, as a venue for fiery, anti-American speeches. Failed Middle East peace talks led the Palestinians to seek statehood recognition at the UN despite staunch American objections. And the Obama administration has been stymied on Syria at the UN Security Council due to intractable Russian opposition.

But this year, Iran has a new leader who is making friendly overtures toward Obama, raising the prospect of a meeting at the United Nations. US-brokered peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians have resumed — though on an uncertain course. And Russia has joined with the US on a diplomatic deal to strip Syria of its chemical weapons.

Joel Rubin, a former State Department official who now works at the nonproliferation organization Ploughshares, said the confluence of events underscores an often frustrating aspect of diplomacy.

“You never know when it’s going to break,” said Rubin. He said Obama’s biggest test now is to recognize if opportunities morph into stalling tactics.

Obama’s advisers cast the sudden signs of progress as an outgrowth of the president’s long-standing preference for resolving disputes through diplomacy and, in the case of Iran and Syria, with pressure built up through economic sanctions and the threat of military action.

“He said we’d be open to diplomacy, we’d pursue engagement, but that there would be pressure if Iran failed to take that opportunity,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser. And on Syria, Rhodes said it was the credible threat of a US military strike “that opened the door for this diplomacy.”

Obama was due to arrive in New York Monday afternoon. He will address the UN on Tuesday, in a speech aides say will touch on developments in Iran, Syria and Middle East peace. The issues will also be at the forefront of some of the president’s bilateral meetings with world leaders, including a sit-down with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, whose country is burdened by the flow of refugees from neighboring Syria.

But Obama’s most closely watched meeting may end up being with Iranian President Hasan Rouhani. No encounter is scheduled, but US officials have left open the possibility the two men might talk on the sidelines of the international gathering.

If they do, it would mark the first meeting of US and Iranian leaders in more than 30 years. A meeting could also be a precursor to renewed talks on Tehran’s disputed nuclear program — though bridging differences over Iran’s right to enrich uranium and maintain those stockpiles will be a far tougher task than arranging a handshake.

The election of Rouhani, a moderate cleric, signaled frustration among many Iranians with their country’s international isolation and the crippling impact of Western sanctions. Obama and Rouhani have already exchanged letters. And the new Iranian president’s rhetoric has so far been more palatable to the US than former leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who would threaten Israel as well as lambast the US in his annual remarks at the UN

Trita Parsi, the president of the National Iranian American Council, said Rouhani shares with Obama a need to prove to a domestic audience that diplomacy can garner concrete results.

“If he can’t show that his diplomatic approach will pay more dividends for Iran that Ahmadinejad’s theatrics, then it’s back to the conservatives being in the driver’s seat. And the flexibility that Rouhani currently has will be lost,” Parsi said.

As Rouhani considers re-engaging with the US, he’s closely watching diplomatic developments in Syria, an Iranian ally.

A chemical weapons attack near Damascus in August brought the US to the brink of a military strike. But an idea floated by Secretary of State John Kerry turned into a last-minute overture from Russia — another backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad — and resulted in a deal to turn Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles over to the international community.

The breakthrough was particularly unexpected given that Russia has thwarted US efforts to punish Assad through the UN Security Council. When Obama was on the verge of launching a strike against Assad’s regime, he said the UN had an “incapacity” to address Syria’s violation of international agreements banning the deployment of deadly gases.

Now the US once again sees a role for the Security Council. The US wants the panel to approve a resolution making the US-Russian agreement legally binding in a way that is verifiable and enforceable. But a key obstacle remains, given US and Russian disagreement over whether to put the resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.

Chapter 7 deals with threats to international peace and security and has provisions for enforcement by military or nonmilitary means, such as sanctions. Russia is sure to veto a resolution that includes a mandate for military action.

The prospect of diplomacy in Iran and Syria has overshadowed tenuous progress in recent months in restarting direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. Talks resumed this summer after months of prodding by Kerry, but the prospect of a resolution on issues that have long had the Israelis and Palestinians at odds remain as slim as ever.

Palestinian leaders, frustrated by the stalemate, have taken their case in recent years to the United Nations, where there is broad support for their bid for statehood. While the US supports Palestinian statehood, it says that status can only be achieved through direct negotiations with the Israelis.

That’s put Obama in the awkward position of arguing against Palestinian efforts during his previous trips to the UN American opposition stymied Palestinian efforts to become full UN members in 2011, but the Palestinians succeeded in a bid to gain implicit statehood recognition last year.

The 2012 measure passed overwhelmingly, with the US and just a handful of other nations voting no.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Kenya, Israel’s forward base in Africa – Diplomacy and Defense Israel News | Haaretz.

Israel’s already intimate ties with Kenya likely to deepen in wake of terror attack by Somali Islamist militants that killed at least 68.

Kenya Defense Forces arriving at the Westgate mall in Nairobi, September 22, 2013. Photo by AFP

On March 15, 2007, a diplomat at the U.S. embassy in Nairobi met with the director general of the Kenyan Foreign Ministry, Tom Amolo. The high-ranking Kenyan official said Kenya and Israel had maintained close security and intelligence cooperation for many years and were in contact at every level and in every field of endeavor.

“Israel is a key geo-strategic partner,” he told the American diplomat in the Kenyan capital, according to U.S. State Department cable that was leaked to WikiLeaks. “It is a suitable counterweight for us to those states in our region that do not share our values,” Amolo was quoted as saying. The American diplomat added in parentheses that Amolo appeared to be referring to Sudan.

Foreign media reports of Israeli advisers arriving in Nairobi on Sunday to help Kenyan security forces handle the hostage crisis at the upscale Westgate shopping mall in the city, where dozens of people were killed Saturday in an attack by Islamic militants, are in line with the intimate security and intelligence cooperation between the two countries.

In the aftermath of the attack, this cooperation is expected to become even closer.

The Al-Qaida terrorist attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi in 1997 set off a warning light for Israeli intelligence regarding the terror threat in Africa. Subsequent attacks, like the 2002 Al-Qaida attack against Israeli tourists at the Paradise Hotel in the Kenyan city of Mombasa and the attempt to down an Israeli Arkia airliner there with a shoulder-fired missile, turned the warning light into a real alarm bell.

In June 2012, two members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force were arrested while in possession of explosives. The pair, who were convicted several months ago and sentenced to life in prison, had planned a terror attack against Israeli diplomats as part of Iran’s effort to avenge a wave of assassinations of nuclear scientists that the Iranians attributed to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. The defendants testified in court that they had been interrogated in a Kenyan jail by Israeli investigators.

Kenya has also been a customer of Israel Military Industries. Israel sold Kenya a considerable amount of weaponry, but beyond that, Israel has provided military know-how. Hundreds of Kenyan soldiers in recent years have received training in combating terrorism in Israel or were trained in Kenya by official or semi-official Israeli instructors.

Somali militants say Israeli forces attempted to enter besieged Nairobi mall | JPost | Israel News.

Somali Islamist group al Shabaab said on Monday Israeli and Kenyan forces have tried to enter the besieged Nairobi shopping center but we unsuccessful, Reuters reported, citing the group’s spokesman.

“Israelis and Kenyan forces have tried to enter Westgate (mall) by force but they could not, the mujahideen (fighters) will kill the hostages if the enemies use force,” Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, al Shabaab’s spokesman said in clip posted on http://www.somalimemo.net.

An Israeli source told AFP on Sunday that while Israeli advisers are at the scene helping with the negotiating strategy, “no Israels [are] involved in any imminent storming operation.”

The source said only a “handful” of Israelis, “purely in an advisory role,” were on scene at the upscale Westgate shopping center, which has several Israeli-owned outlets and is frequented by expatriates and Kenyans.

There were, however, conflicting reports from other security sources in Nairobi about the part Israel was playing in the crisis that entered its third day on Monday after at least 68 were killed.

One Kenyan security source, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters that the Israeli military was involved in the operation, while a private security official also said they were helping comb the mall.

But Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku insisted it was a national operation, despite offers of foreign support.

Meanwhile, Reuters reporters at the scene said brief but intense gunfire accompanied by at least two blasts were heard coming from the mall in the early hours of Monday.

It was the latest of several eruptions of gunfire coming from inside Nairobi’s Westgate mall since the early morning, after a largely quiet night. Some of the shots were heard coming from outside.

A Kenyan Red Cross official, Abbas Guled, said there appeared to be clashes inside the building.

But there was no indication of the fate of people whom the authorities had said on Sunday were being held by 10 to 15 gunmen – and possibly women – inside a large supermarket.

Security forces said they had secured the bulk of the complex by Sunday, freeing many people who had hidden in terror. Though they hoped for a quick resolution, hostages were still being held, however.

Survivors’ tales of Saturday’s military-style, lunchtime assault by squads of attackers hurling grenades and spraying automatic fire, has left little doubt the hostage-takers are willing to kill. Previous such raids around the world suggest they may also be ready to die with their captives.

In Somalia, Kenya’s northern neighbor devastated by two decades of civil war, a spokesman for al Shabaab said President Uhuru Kenyatta must pull out Kenyan troops, who have pushed the militants on to the defensive over the past two years as part of an African Union-backed peacekeeping mission. Kenyatta refused.

It was unclear how many may be held hostage. Colonel Cyrus Oguna, a Kenyan military spokesman, told Reuters that most of those freed in a search and rescue operation on Sunday had not been held by the gunmen but had found places of refuge. He said “a very small number” were still captive, but gave no detail.

“We will not negotiate with terrorists,” he added.

Asked at a news conference on Sunday about whether captives had been wired with explosives, Kenyatta declined comment.

The president, who lost a nephew in Saturday’s killing, vowed to hold firm in the “war on terror” in Somalia and said, cautiously, that Kenyan forces could end the siege.

“I assure Kenyans that we have as good a chance to successfully neutralize the terrorists as we can hope for,” he said. “We will punish the masterminds swiftly and painfully.”

A military spokesman for al Shabaab told Reuters his group had nothing to fear. “Where will Uhuru Kenyatta get the power with which he threatened us?” said Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab.

Siege

It was unclear who the assailants were. Al Shabaab – the name means “The Lads” in Arabic – has thousands of Somali fighters but has also attracted foreigners to fight Western and African Union efforts to establish a stable government.

With the stocks of a major supermarket at their disposal – the Nakumatt store is part of one of Kenya’s biggest chains – the gunmen could be in a position to hold on for a long time.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, confirming that at least three Britons were already among the dead, said: “We should prepare ourselves for further bad news.”

US President Barack Obama called Kenyatta to offer condolences and support. Israel, whose citizens own stores in the Israeli-built mall and have been targeted by Islamists in Kenya before, said Israeli experts were also helping.

Foreigners, including a French mother and daughter, and two diplomats, from Canada and Ghana, were killed. Ghanaian Kofi Awoonor was a renowned poet. Other victims came from China and the Netherlands. Five Americans were wounded.

Kenya’s president, son of post-colonial leader Jomo Kenyatta, is facing his first major security challenge since being elected in March.

The assault was the biggest single attack in Kenya since al-Qaida’s East Africa cell bombed the US Embassy in Nairobi in 1998, killing more than 200 people.

Warfare

Al Shabaab’s siege underlined its ability to cause major disruptions with relatively limited resources, even after Kenyan and other African troops drove it from Somali cities.

“While the group has grown considerably weaker in terms of being able to wage a conventional war, it is now ever more capable of carrying out asymmetric warfare,” said Abdi Aynte, director of Mogadishu’s Heritage Institute of Policy Studies.

After emerging on Sunday morning from a hiding place under a vehicle in the basement car park, a woman, giving her name as Cecilia, told Reuters she had seen three of the attackers.

“They were shooting from the exit ramp, shooting everywhere,” she said. “I saw people being shot all around me, some with blood pouring from bad wounds. I was just praying, praying ‘God, keep me alive’ and that my day hadn’t come.”

Witnesses said the attackers had AK-47 rifles and wore ammunition belts. One militant was shot and arrested early on in the siege, but died shortly afterwards.

For hours after the attack, the dead were strewn around tables of unfinished meals. At one burger restaurant, a man and woman lay in a final embrace, until their bodies were removed.

Kenya sent troops into Somalia in October 2011 to pursue militants whom it accused of kidnapping tourists and attacking its security forces.

Al Shabaab’s last big attack outside Somalia was a twin assault in nearby Uganda, targeting people watching the World Cup final on television in Kampala in 2010, killing 77 people.

Americans, Canadian and Brit said to be among Kenya attackers | The Times of Israel.

Death toll in terrorist attack on Nairobi mall rises to 68; most of hostages freed, but an estimated 30 remain captive

Trucks of soldiers from the Kenya Defense Forces arrive after dawn outside the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. (photo credit: AP/Ben Curtis)

Three Americans, a Canadian, a Briton and a Finn are believed to be among the hostage-takers in the terrorist attack at a mall in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, CNN reported Monday.

A source in the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab told the American news network nine names of the estimated 10-15 gunmen who participated in the deadly attack on a shopping mall on Saturday.

“Their names all sound Arabic in their nature, or at least Somali… and all of them are quite young men,” CNN reported. The Americans, according to the report, were said to be residents of Minnesota and Kansas. Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the US with over 32,000, and Kansas home to an estimated 5,000 immigrants from the east African state.

The FBI began investigating the possibility of whether as many as five Americans participated in the Kenyan mall attack, NBC reported. The news outlet said the investigation was in the preliminary stages and that American authorities may not ascertain whether Americans were involved until the standoff with the gunmen reached its conclusion.

A Twitter feed associated with al-Shabab identified the Americans as Ahmed Mohamed Isse, 22, of St. Paul, MN, Abdifatah Osman Keenadiid, 24, of Minneapolis, MN, and Gen Mustafe Noorudiin, 27, of Kansas City, MO.

Kenya’s Red Cross raised the death toll in a devastating terror attack on an upscale mall in Nairobi to 68 Sunday night, as security officials said they were gearing up for a final push to free hostages after an over-24-hour standoff. An estimated 30 people are believed to remain held by the terrorist gunmen.

In a statement Sunday, the Red Cross said nine more bodies were recovered in a joint rescue mission. Officials say more than 175 people were wounded in the attack.

Shortly before sun down, Kenyan forces launched an intensive offensive aimed at ending the two-day siege.

The assault came as two helicopters circled the mall, with one skimming very close to the roof. A loud explosion rang, far larger than any previous grenade blast or gunfire volley.

Kenyan police said on Twitter that a “MAJOR” assault by security forces was ongoing to end the two-day siege.

“This will end tonight. Our forces will prevail. Kenyans are standing firm against aggression, and we will win,” Kenya’s Disaster Operations Centre said on Twitter.

Associated Press journalists at the Westgate Mall said the explosion Sunday afternoon was by far the largest in the 30-hour siege. There was silence after the big blast.

The assault came about 30 hours after the al-Shabab extremists stormed the mall from two sides, throwing grenades and firing on civilians at will.

Loud exchanges of gunfire emanated from inside the four-story upscale mall, throughout the day Sunday. Kenyan troops were seen carrying in at least two rocket-propelled grenades and helicopters hovered throughout the day. Al-Shabab militants reacted angrily to the helicopters on Twitter and said the Kenyan military action was endangering hostages.

Kenyan officials said they would do their utmost to save hostages lives, but no officials could say precisely how many hostages were inside. Kenya’s Red Cross said in a statement citing police that 49 people had been reported missing.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack in which grenades and assault rifles were used, and non-Muslims were specifically targeted. The Islamic extremist rebels said the attack was retribution for Kenyan forces’ 2011 push into neighboring Somalia.

Al-Shabab said on its new Twitter feed — after its previous one was shut down on Saturday — that Kenyan officials were asking the hostage-takers to negotiate and offering incentives.

“We’ll not negotiate with the Kenyan govt as long as its forces are invading our country, so reap the bitter fruits of your harvest,” al-Shabab said in a tweet.

Earlier in the day, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta issued a statement in which he sent condolences to the families of those killed in the attack and well-wishes for quick recovery to those injured.

He blasted the “despicable perpetrators of this cowardly act” whose intent, he said was to “intimidate, divide and cause despondency among Kenyans.” Declaring that “open and united country is a threat to evildoers everywhere,” Kenyatta accused the terrorists of trying to force citizens to “retreat into a closed, fearful and fractured society where trust, unity and enterprise are difficult to muster.”

Kenyatta pledged to not allow the terrorists to succeed. “We have overcome terrorist attacks before… within and outside our borders. We will defeat them again.” He added that “terrorism… is the philosophy of cowards.

He also reiterated his government’s determination to continue fighting al-Shabab.

“We went as a nation into Somalia to help stabilize the country and most importantly to fight terror that had been unleashed on Kenya and the world,” said Kenyatta.”We shall not relent on the war on terror.”

He said that, although this violent attack had succeeded, the Kenyan security forces had “neutralized” many others.

Kenyatta said his nephew and his nephew’s fiancée were killed in the attack.

Westgate Mall is at least partially owned by Israelis, and reports circulated that Israeli commandos were on the ground to assist in the response. Four restaurants inside the mall are Israeli-run or -owned.

Israel has close ties to Kenya going back many years. And, in recent years, Israel has identified East Africa as an area of strategic interest and has stepped up ties with Kenya and other neighboring countries, due to shared threats posed by al-Qaeda and other extremist elements. In 2002, militants bombed an Israeli-owned luxury hotel near Mombasa, killing 13 people, and tried to shoot down an Israeli airliner at the same time.

According to a Kenyan security source, Israeli forces entered the mall, where a siege has been ongoing since Saturday, and “are rescuing the hostages and injured,” AFP reported.

However, an unnamed security source told Reuters that Israeli advisers were helping in negotiations, but not in operations.

“There are Israeli advisers helping with the negotiating strategy, but no Israelis involved in any imminent storming operation,” the Israeli source said.

The attack began on Saturday, when witnesses said at least five gunmen — including at least one woman — first attacked an outdoor cafe at Westgate Mall, a shiny, new shopping center that hosts Nike, Adidas and Bose stores. The mall’s ownership is Israeli, and security experts have long said the structure made an attractive terrorist target.

Over 1,000 people have been evacuated or have fled the mall, officials said, and the terrorists remained inside with an unknown number of hostages in an ongoing siege.

AP reported that the cafe attacked is called Artcaffe; Kenyan websites said the cafe is owned by local Israelis.

Gilad Millo, a Nairobi-based Israeli, said two Israeli men and a woman who were in the mall when the attack began were unharmed and safe.

Yariv Kedar, one of the three Israelis who was in Artcaffe at the time, told Channel 2 he “heard the gunfire getting closer” and bullets whizzed “over our heads” before he managed to escape.

“We started by hearing gunshots downstairs and outside. Later we heard them come inside. We took cover. Then we saw two gunmen wearing black turbans. I saw them shoot,” said Patrick Kuria, an employee at Artcaffe.

President Shimon Peres, in a Sunday letter to Kenyatta, said, “I wish to extend my deepest condolences to the people of Kenya on the horrific terror attack in Nairobi. From the Holy Land we pray for the release of the hostages, the full recovery of the injured, and comfort for the families of the victims.”

Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga told reporters at the mall that a number of people were being held hostage on the third floor and the basement area of the mall, which includes stores for Nike, Adidas and Bose stores.

Kenyan security officials sought to reassure the families of hostages inside, but implied that hostages could be killed. The security operation is “delicate” because Kenyan forces hoped to ensure the hostages are evacuated safely, said Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Lenku.

“The priority is to save as many lives as possible,” Lenku said. ”We have received a lot of messages from friendly countries, but for now it remains our operation.”

Britain’s prime minister, in confirming the deaths of three British nationals, told the country to “prepare ourselves for further bad news.”

“It’s an extremely difficult situation, but we’re doing everything we can to help the Kenyans in their hours of need,” David Cameron said.

“Violent extremists continue to occupy Westgate Mall. Security services are there in full force,” said the United States Embassy in an emergency text message issued Sunday morning advising Americans to stay indoors and close to home.

Kenyans and foreigners were among those confirmed dead, including British, French, Canadians, Indians, a Ghanaian, a South African, and a Chinese woman.

Kofi Awoonor, a Ghanaian poet, professor and former ambassador to Brazil, Cuba and the United Nations, died after being injured in the attack, Ghana’s presidential office confirmed. Ghana’s ministry of information said Awoonor’s son was injured and is responding to treatment.

Kenya’s presidential office said that one of the attackers was arrested on Saturday and died after suffering from bullet wounds.

Britain’s Foreign Office said that Foreign Secretary William Hague has chaired a meeting of Britain’s crisis committee and sent a rapid deployment team from London to Nairobi to provide extra consular support.

The United Nations Security Council condemned the attacks and “expressed their solidarity with the people and Government of Kenya” in a statement.

There was some good news on Sunday, as Kenyan media reported that several people in hiding in the mall escaped to safety, suggesting that not everyone who was inside overnight was being held by al-Shabab.

Cecile Ndwiga said she had been hiding under a car in the basement parking garage.

“I called my husband to ask the soldiers to come and rescue me. Because I couldn’t just walk out anyhow. The shootout was all over here — left, right— just gun shots,” she said.

Security forces had pushed curious crowds far back from the mall. Hundreds of residents gathered on a high ridge above the mall to watch for any activity. Police lobbed multiple rounds of tear gas throughout the day at hundreds of curious Kenyans who gathered near the mall.