Made me start to imagine what past terror attacks would have been like had the perpetrators been tweeting them while they were going on.

Nairobi mall attackers could not have picked a better target

The city is the commercial hub of east and central Africa, writes Kenyan journalist Murithi Mutiga

By Murithi Mutiga, The Observer @ theguardian.com,  21 September 2013 16.01 EDT    
 

My relatives among 39 killed in mall siege – President Uhuru
By Olive Burrows, Capital News (Nairobi), September 21, 2013   

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 21 – A resolute President Uhuru Kenyatta has told the terrorists responsible for the deaths of 39 Kenyans at the Westgate mall on Saturday that they have not won the day.

He said the Kenyan spirit had not been broken and that they only succeeded in strengthening the nation’s resolve in fighting terrorism, “we remain as brave and invincible as the lions on our coat of arms,” he said.

He went on to reveal that he too had lost, “very close family members,” in Saturday’s attack and promised to hunt down and bring to book those responsible for the attack.

He went on to assure the families of those who lost their loved ones in the attack and the 150 who were injured of the government’s support [....]

Police ignored me as I exposed Westgate terrorist – survivor
By Kennedy Kangethe, Capital News (Nairobi), September 21, 2013

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 21 – A survivor of the Westgate terrorist attack has recounted how police ignored him when he pointed to them one of the gunmen who disguised himself as a victim.

The witness told how the gunman changed his clothes and mingled with other victims before he vanished in the crowd outside the mall.

“The man is of Arab origin, he changed his clothes on first floor and left with the victims as they were being rescued,” he said. “When I saw him outside the building I told the police this is one of the gunmen but they did not heed to my plea but asked me to get out.”

The account raised fears most of the attackers may have escaped during the confusion, although some were detained or killed during the mayhem [....]

The likely reason why the attackers chose Westgate became apparent as one embassy after another confirmed that some of its citizens had been murdered in the assault.

David Cameron confirmed that three Britons had died, and said: "We should prepare ourselves for further bad news." France said that two of its citizens had died, both women. Canada's prime minister Stephen Harper said that two Canadians had died, one of them a diplomat named as Annemarie Desloges, who served in Canada's high commission to Kenya.

The US government said that the wife of one of its citizens working for the US Agency for International Development had been killed, while four Americans were injured.

From

Kenya mall siege: 'final assault' begins
Witnesses in Nairobi report huge blast as security forces enter shopping centre where armed militants are holding 30 hostages
By Guy Alexander in Nairobi, The Guardian, 22 September 2013 15.37 ET

Note some info. in there about what is currently happening:

....began with a barrage of gunfire at 7am local time as Kenyan soldiers attempted to storm their way into the ground floor entrance to the mall's largest shop, the Nakumatt supermarket.

One of the soldiers who took part in the attack, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that two of Kenyan troops had been killed as they came under sustained heavy fire, including what appeared to be rocket propelled grenades. "They were very intelligent and they are well-armed," he told the Guardian.

He said that the frequent exchanges of fire between security services and the attackers had been designed to drain their ammunition supplies.

A number of eyewitnesses inside the security cordon in the Westlands neighbourhood of Nairobi said that Kenyan special forces who had been assembling outside during the day appeared to be being assisted by foreign military advisers.

Kenyan police, working with officers from the British high commission succeeded overnight on Saturday in erecting a security cordon around the busy commercial district but fascinated crowds gathered on a hillside overlooking the mall and crowded access roads on all sides....

Authorities and militants take Nairobi battle to Twitter
By Jastinder Khera, BBC News, 24 Sept., 2013

[....]

[...] arguably the most important use of social media by the authorities is to rally Kenyans behind the security forces as they respond to the attack using the hashtags #WeAreOne and #WithOneAccord, a reference to the Kenyan national anthem.

The prevailing mood among Kenyans on Twitter appears to be one of support for the operation against the militants and a feeling of solidarity in a time of crisis.

Kenyans are among the most active users of Twitter in Africa and have also been using social media in order to come together and organise initiatives to help the victims of the attack.

Many shared information about where to give blood - blogger Robert Alai shared a picture of children on roller-skates holding placards urging Kenyans to donate blood.

Others shared stories of Kenyans bringing food to journalists covering the siege and the security forces posted near the centre.

Terror in Westgate mall: the full story of the attacks that devastated Kenya
By Daniel Howden in Nairobi, theguardian.com, 4 October 2013

It is two weeks since al-Shabaab militants brought mayhem to an upmarket shopping centre in Nairobi, executing unarmed men, women and children as they tried to hide or flee. At least 67 people were killed. Now, a detailed investigation based on interviews with survivors, their relatives and members of the Kenyan security forces reveals how incompetence and infighting among the authorities left the attackers free to continue their slaughter for 80 hours [....]