Kenya: New Arrest As Travel Warning Slated

Another person has been arrested over last weekend's terror attack at a Nairobi shopping centre that left at least 67 people dead.

Nine suspects are now in custody following the gun and grenade assault believed to be by Islamist militants from the al Qaeda-linked Somali group al Shabaab.

Kenyan officials have arrested 12 people in connection with the raid on September 21 in the capital, but three have been freed.

Interior minister Joseph Ole Lenku said the latest arrest was made on Sunday.

But he declined to give any information about the suspected attackers or those arrested, saying "we do not discuss intelligence matters in public".

Kenyan police assisted by US, Israeli and European experts are still poring over the partially wrecked building.

Investigators have also identified a car used by the gunmen and found in it "an assortment of illegal weapons," said Mr Lenku.

Part of the car park collapsed during the siege

Five of the attackers were killed and the Kenyan government believes no hostages were left in the mall after the assault "unless forensic evidence shows otherwise," the minister went on.

The Red Cross has said 59 people remain missing, though the Kenyan government has said no one was unaccounted for.

Six British nationals were among the victims when gunmen stormed the upmarket Westgate shopping mall.

While the centre was a chaotic scene for many hours after the attack began, with people moving in and out of the building, Mr Lenku insisted no terrorists could have escaped.

The raid, claimed by al Shabaab in retaliation for Kenyan military operations in Somalia, ended after a four-day siege when security forces went in to flush out the gunmen.

It had been thought that a number of attackers and hostages had been trapped under rubble when the roof the mall collapsed.

What caused the collapse has not been revealed but a government official admitted on Saturday it happened as a result of action by Kenyan forces.

Meanwhile, the east African country has asked the American government to remove a warning to US citizens, advising them to take extra care when travelling to Kenya, calling it "unnecessary" and "unfriendly".

Mr Lenku said he strongly objected to the advisory that urged Americans to "evaluate their personal security situation in light of continuing and recently heightened threats from terrorism" there.

He said: "We believe issuing the travel advisory is counter-productive in the fight against global terrorism.

"We request the United States, as a friend of Kenya, to lift the travel advisory."

A memorial service was held outside the shopping centre on Saturday to remember victims of the attack - a week after the assault.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has vowed not to bow to al Shabaab which has threatened more attacks if Kenya failed to pull its troops out of Somalia.

But his administration faces tough questions after the apparent leaking of an intelligence report dated September 13 that warned of an elevated risk, which some top officials reportedly said was treated too casually. 

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