Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Tuesday that the country's soldiers will remain in Somalia following the Westgate Shopping Mall attack last month, Voice of America reported.
While authorities continued their investigation into the terrorist attack in Nairobi, Kenyatta spoke at an interdenominational prayer service in the capital. He was joined by other religious and political leaders and said Al Shabaab's attempt at dividing the nation was unsuccessful.
"The agents of evil perpetrated terrorism in the name of religion. They hoped to destroy our society and divide its people along religious lines, but we fought back as one people and continue to nurse our grievous wound together," Kenyatta said.
Al Shabaab is a Somalia-based group with links to Al Qaeda. They immediately claimed responsibility for the mall assault, claiming it was in response to the Kenyan military presence in Somalia. Kenyan troops began operating in the neighboring country in 2011 after they suspected militants from Al Shabaab of committing a string of kidnappings and attacks
"We will stay there until they bring order in their nation," Kenyatta added. "We will not be intimidated, we will not be cowed."
The president also said that a special committee will investigate lapses in the government's response to the attack at Westgate since many security forces were criticized for a lack of coordination at the beginning of the four-day siege, in addition to accusations of police and store owners of looting during the assault.
Nairobi governor Dr Evans Kidero also addressed those in attendance at the prayer service.
"The Kenyan spirit of unity will never be broken. We will move forward undeterred," Kidero said.
Though much of the mall was destroyed by explosions, investigators continue to sift through debris and rubble. A total of 62 people were killed in the attack while 167 were wounded, making it the deadliest assault Kenya has witnessed since the 1998 Al Qaeda truck bombing at the U.S. Embassy, killing more than 200 people.
