Conflicting reports are emerging about the bloody four-day standoff between Kenyan authorities and Islamist militants at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi. Kenyan officials claim they have taken control with all hostages freed. But the Somali militant group al-Shabab has claimed its fighters are holding their ground with live hostages inside the mall, which it said was littered with “countless” dead bodies. Witnesses say gunshots have continued to ring out. Some 68 people died in the initial assault over the weekend, which al-Shabab said was revenge for Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia. Among those killed was the great Ghanian poet Kofi Awoonor. Kenya’s foreign minister said the attackers included “two or three” Americans and a British woman. President Obama responded to the tragedy on Monday.

President Obama: “I want to express personally my condolences to not only President Kenyatta, who lost some family members in the attack, but to the Kenyan people. We stand with them against this terrible outrage that has occurred. We will provide them with whatever law enforcement support that is necessary. And we are confident that Kenya, which has been a pillar of stability in Eastern Africa, will rebuild.”

The crisis led judges at the International Criminal Court to adjourn the war crimes trial of Kenyan Vice President William Ruto, who, along with President Uhuru Kenyatta, is facing charges for allegedly orchestrating violence in Kenya after the disputed 2007 elections.