24 September 2013

Al-Shabaab’s Twitter account, which has continued to be shut down during the Westgate crisis, tweeted an alleged photo from a security camera in the mall showing two gunmen in the mall.

The photo previously appeared to be online on 23 September 2013 after it reportedly had been screen-grabbed from a CCTV stream.

In a series of tweets, al-Shabaab continues to exploit the contradictory and misleading information provided by Kenyan officials.

The efforts by the Kenyan government to declare an end to the crisis–perhaps prematurely–and al-Shabaab’s responses on various re-born Twitter accounts underscore how the Westgate war is being fought in the media as much as in the mall.

Kenyan security forces are still engaged in a delicate operation to rescue the remaining hostages amid explosive traps set by the militants.

Al-Shabaab’s attack on the upscale mall has killed at least 65 people and has injured hundreds of innocent civilians, whose haunting moments were also catalogued in social media.