GUNMEN MACHETE MONARCH, KIDNAP WIFE IN ENUGU

Wife of the traditional ruler of Abba - Igogoro in Igbo Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, Igwe Omale Nwogbo, Adiza, has been kidnapped by unknown persons who invaded her home last week.

The woman was kidnapped few days after some armed men invaded the palace and inflicted machete cuts on her husband before shooting at three other persons with him in his palace at about 8pm.

According to police sources, the traditional ruler was meeting with some people in his Igogoro palace when the gunmen struck and reportedly shot one Joshua Urama at the back while Igwe Ogbo himself, Emmanuel Tobechukwu Idoko and Sunday Ogbo sustained injuries on their heads and faces. Igwe Ogbo was said to have been reportedly given three machete cuts on his head.

The attack took place at a time members of the ruling People's Democratic Party, PDP, in the local government were holding the Ward Congress at Enugu Ezike to elect delegates for last Saturday's local government congress to elect chairmanship candidates for the local government election slated later in the year.

Igwe Nwogbo and the other victims who sustained serious bullet wounds, were later rushed to the Bishop Shanahan Hospital Annex in Enugu Ezike, the council headquarters for urgent medical attention.

However, Adiza, 85, was abducted by some people who reportedly claimed to have come from the neighbouring Isugwu community, exactly four days after her husband was attacked in his palace.

The police were still trying the unravel the reasons behind the attack on Igwe Ogbo when his wife was abducted.

Adiza's son and former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters in the state, Prince Goddy Ogbo confirmed in a telephone interview with Saturday Vanguard yesterday that his aged mother was abducted by unknown persons who invaded his father's palace on motorcycles.

According to him, his old mother was forcefully taken away on one of the motorcycles as she shouted, "blood of Jesus; blood of Jesus about two weeks ago."

The State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, in EnuguState, Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the incident yesterday, but stressed that he had no details of Adiza's abduction, even as Prince Ogbo said that his family had not established any contacts with the abductors since the incident.

Renowned Ghanaian Author Killed In Kenya Massacre

One of Ghana's foremost authors, Professor Kofi Awoonor, was among scores of people shot dead in Saturday's attack at the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya.

One of Africa's most extraordinary poets, Mr. Awoonor also served in several political roles in Ghana. Until recently, he was the chairman of Ghana's Council of State, having being appointed by the late President John Atta-Mills and in 2009 was elected to chair that advisory body.

Mr. Awoonor's death in the massacre has sent shock waves around the world, a source at the Ghana High Commission in Nairobi confirmed. A Somali Islamist militant group, Al Shabab, has claimed responsibility for the gruesome attack in which 59 people perished. Many more victims sustained various degrees of critical injuries.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has vowed to hunt down the perpetrators of the attack.  Reports say Mr. Awoonor's son who was with him at the mall also sustained injuries but is currently responding to treatment.

Further source at Legon told SaharaReporters that Mr. Awoonor's death "has put Ghanaians in a big mourning mood. He was a very beloved man, an honorable writer who believed in lifting up all Ghanaians".

At various times, Mr. Awoonor, who was inspired by his country's most well known nationalist figure, Kwame Nkrumah, also served as Ghana's ambassador to Cuba, Brazil. From 1990 to 1994, he served as Ghana's ambassador and permanent representative at the United Nations in New York City, heading the world body's committee against apartheid.

 Mr. Awoonor was a gifted writer and passionate promoter of African literature through his critical scholarship. His book of crit

EXIT POLLS GIVE MERKEL VICTORY IN GERMANY

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has won a third term in elections, but her conservatives may be forced to govern in a "grand coalition" with the centre-left Social Democrats, exit polls say.

The surveys came minutes after polls closed in Germany where tens of millions of voters cast their ballots for Sunday's parliamentary elections.

Public opinion polls in the past week have shown Germany’s three major left-of-centre parties running neck-and-neck with Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its coalition partner in the current government, the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

If the FDP fails to win the five percent of the vote needed to retain seats in parliament, a coalition of Germany’s two biggest parties, the CDU and SPD, seems likely, in a reprise of the tandem that ruled Germany from 2005-2009, during Merkel’s first term as chancellor.

According to exit polls, the FDP got 4.7 per cent of the votes while the anti-euro Alternative for Germany (AfG) got 4.9 percent.

The AfG hopes to break into the legislature with the support of conservative-leaning voters disgruntled with Merkel’s CDU, a staunch supporter of Germany’s membership in the eurozone.

Since the last elections in 2009, Germany has witnessed steadily falling unemployment and a strong economy, compared to the woes of its eurozone neighbours.

But the SPD’s chancellor candidate, Peer Steinbruck, has criticised Merkel’s government for failing to stem inequality and taking an overly harsh approach towards indebted eurozone countries.

Mixed feelings

In the left-leaning district of Kreuzberg, Berlin - where just 12 per cent voted for Merkel's CDU in 2009 - several voters echoed Steinbruck’s concerns, telling Al Jazeera that social justice issues were their primary concern.

One of them, Mara L – a Kreuzberg resident who declined to give her last name – said she was voting for the anti-capitalist Left party.

The eurozone bailouts passed during Merkel's tenure have only aided the banks, she said, not the people.

In the south-central Berlin neighbourhood of Tempelhof, the mood was friendlier towards the ruling coalition.

Ralf Horstkoetter, an engineer, told Al Jazeera he thought Merkel had done a "good job" in office, citing her stances on taxes and foreign politics.

Although anecdotal evidence suggested strong voter participation – officials at two polling stations said turnout was higher than in 2009 – Sunday's election seemed to be a low-energy affair. Aside from the ubiquitous election posters, few visual cues suggested that this was a special day.

Many voters complained that few real differences separated Germany’s major parties.

Michael Stark, who sells bicycles at Berlin's Bergmannstrasse flea market, is one such non-voter.

He described Germany's political parties as being "all pirates, all pigs", decrying the lack of a national minimum wage and what he told Al Jazeera were high poverty rates.

Among the only ways Merkel could be ousted as chancellor is if the SPD, the Greens, and the Left team up - but this seems unlikely, as the SPD has ruled out forming a coalition with the Left.

NAIROBI MALL ATTACK: 3 British Nationals among the 59 killed at Westgate shopping centre.

A rescue worker helps a child outside the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday, September 21, 2013, after al-Shabab gunmen opened fire and reportedly threw grenades during an attack that left dozens dead and wounded. 

Kenyan minister says death toll is now up to 59, as shots are fired on troops preparing hostage rescue operation.

Three British nationals have been killed in the Westgate shopping centre Nairobi terrorist attack, and that number is set to rise, the Foreign Office has said.

Kenyan security forces are locked in a standoff with an estimated 10 to 15 heavily armed gunmen believed to be linked to the Islamist Somali al-Shabaab group, with the tense security operation marked by occasional bouts of gunfire.

Soldiers carried children and led other victims to safety as armed police combed the shopping centre 

Earlier the country’s Interior Ministry said the death toll currently stands at 59, with a further 175 injured, and despite having “complete control” of the situation and access to the shopping centre’s CCTV systems, there is still no definitive count on the number of hostages held inside.

The British Foreign Office issued a statement which said UK staff had been sent to Nairobi to provide consular support, and the Government’s crisis committee – chaired by Foreign Secretary William Hague – met to discuss the situation.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “It is an absolutely sickening and despicable attack of appalling brutality. Because the situation is ongoing, we should prepare ourselves for further bad news.”

In an address to the nation this afternoon, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said that his nephew and fiancée were among those who died in the attack.

A wounded woman outside the shopping centre in Nairobi. 

He said that while investigations were ongoing to confirm al-Shabaab's involvement, the terrorists “would not get away with their despicable and beastly acts”.

“We will punish the masterminds swiftly and indeed very painfully,” Mr Kenyatta said, adding that “the cowardly perpetrators are now cornered in the building”.

Deputy President William Ruto has asked judges at the International Criminal Court to adjourn his case so that he can return home to provide assistance. He stands trial for alleged involvement in violence after the 2007 Kenyan elections.

Meanwhile, Israel has confirmed that its security officers have joined the effort to resolve the hostage situation. Members of its military will provide negotiation and strategic assistance, but will not be involved directly if an armed offensive is required.

Yesterday gunmen armed with grenades, AK-47s and ammunition belts opened fire inside the affluent mall during a children’s cooking competition, leaving shoppers – many of whom were ex-pats and tourists – fleeing for their lives.

The security effort has been ongoing since then, with a reported 1,000 people rescued from the situation so far.

Military reinforcements arrived this morning, according to the Interior Ministry, with armoured vehicles bringing more soldiers to join in the rescue operation. At approximately 11am (9am BST), fresh barrages of gunfire were heard from within the shopping centre as security forces ran in a line and crouched along the front of the building.

Speaking to reporters today, Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku insisted the police and army were in complete control of the situation, but a message from the Twitter profile for his office asked that media organisations stop broadcasting the specific movements of troops outside – reportedly assisting the terrorists in doing so.

Today’s movements at the scene come as security forces try to establish the number of hostages within the building – thought to be around 30 – with several of those trapped in the building overnight having been able to escape on their own.

Injured customers escape gunmen

Nairobi's Police Chief, Benson Kibue, yesterday described the assault as a terrorist attack, and last night the Somalia-based group al-Shabaab was reported to have claimed responsibility.

A rescuer carries a child to safety at the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, after an attack claimed by al-Shabaab militants

According to eye-witnesses, the gunmen told Muslims to leave the centre shortly before midday and said that non-Muslims would be targeted.

Some claimed the attackers had asked, “who is Prophet's mother?” in an attempt to discover non-Muslims. One man escaped by showing the attackers his ID with his name, Hakim, on it. Another reportedly failed to name the Prophet's mother and was killed.

Civilians who had been hiding walk to safety with their hands up

Who Are al-Shabaab?

Islamist extremism has been on the rise in East Africa for the past decade, with al-Qa'ida-linked groups such as al-Shabaab behind a growing number of terror attacks.

Since the Kenyan army began helping Somali forces tackle al-Shabaab insurgents in southern Somalia in October 2011, Kenya has fallen victim to a string of retaliatory gun and grenade attacks.

Last month, four Kenyan police officers were shot dead in Garissa, near the Somali border, when 40 armed men suspected of belonging to al-Shabaab attacked a police post. In July, the group released two Kenyan government officials it had seized in a 2012 cross-border attack, after holding them hostage in Somalia for more than a year.

Between July 2011 and July 2012 there were at least 17 attacks involving grenades or explosive devices in Kenya, killing at least 48 people and injuring around 200. Four of these attacks occurred in Nairobi, and four in Mombasa. Targeted locations have included police stations and police vehicles, nightclubs and bars, churches, a religious gathering, shops and a bus station.

Al-Shabaab was also behind the twin bomb attacks in Kampala, Uganda, that killed at least 74 people in 2010. These were again connected to military actions against them in Somalia. Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, the group's spokesperson, said soon after the bombings: “We are sending a message to Uganda and Burundi, if they do not take out their Amisom [African Union Mission in Somalia] troops from Somalia, blasts will continue and it will happen.”

Today, the group added: “The Kenyan government turned a deaf ear to our repeated warnings.”