Soldiers take positions outside the Westgate Mall during the standoff with militants  who had raided the shopping centre and killed over 62 people. [PHOTO: JOHN MATUA]

By NYAMBEGA GISESA

KENYA: The responsibility of closing in on the terrorists fell upon specialist assault units drawn from the military: Langata’s Maroon Commandos, 20 Parachute Battalion, 75 Artillery, 30 Special Forces (30SF) and 40 Rangers Strike Force (RSF).

The Westgate Mall siege was not a conventional hostile situation and the killing of civilians and continued gunfight negated the prospect of a peaceful resolution. Without negotiations to stall the terrorists, there was no time to prepare an ideal assault plan.

It did not help matters that none of the units had ever been involved in a hostile situation and none of the members of the whole Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) have engaged in Close Quarters Battle (CQB).

Secret soldiers

The best available option was to send Kenya’s secret soldiers whose missions largely remain classified.

The soldiers sent to fight the remnants of the terrorists at the mall said they had to fall back on individual combat skills, tactical judgment and luck, which at the end helped end the siege in five-hours.

Inside the building, the terrorists understood that their chances of survival were low and thus planted explosives in various parts of the building ready to kill themselves once a rescue mission started.

In the first hours of arrival, the specialist assault units evacuated hundreds of civilians.

Although there is no counterterrorism unit anywhere in the world that is logistically supported for immediate engagement in a situation where there are no on-going negotiations to buy time, the Kenyan teams arrived within twelve-hours.

The 40 Rangers Strike Force (40RSF) and 30 Special Forces (30SF) are part of Kenya’s special operations units, known as Special Operations Regiments (SOR). They are largely unknown to the public and their details are hidden even within the military. And not many people may be aware there are the ones behind the heroic deeds during the incursion into Somali to flush out the Al Shabaab militants dubbed Operation Linda Nchi.

Gilgil barracks is the home of the special operators, whose members are picked from the best of the best after pass outs, and immediately start being tested for endurance, stress management and ingenuity.

They train alongside such crack units such as Sayaret Matkal of the Israel Defence Force (IDF), US Rangers and Britain’s Special Air Service.

The Kenya paratroopers are also known as the “green berets” or the “paras”. Both the 20 Para and the special operations regiments are considered as the army commanders’ reserve and can only be deployed with his consent.