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Dozens dead in Mali hotel attack as officials say hostage situation over

BAMAKO (Mali) — Gunmen stormed a Radisson Blu hotel yesterday in Bamako, the capital of the West African nation of Mali, seizing scores of hostages, including French citizens, and leaving bodies strewn across parts of the building.

Mali troopers helping a man (centre) flee from the Radisson Blu hotel after it was stormed by gunmen. Photo: AP

Mali troopers helping a man (centre) flee from the Radisson Blu hotel after it was stormed by gunmen. Photo: AP

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BAMAKO (Mali) — Gunmen stormed a Radisson Blu hotel yesterday in Bamako, the capital of the West African nation of Mali, seizing scores of hostages, including French citizens, and leaving bodies strewn across parts of the building.

A senior United Nations official said that as many as 27 people had been killed so far, with bodies found in the basement and on the second floor, according to a preliminary assessment of the devastating attack.

An unknown number of gunmen, perhaps four or five, took “about 100 hostages” at the beginning of the siege, said General Didier Dacko of the Malian Army. He said soldiers had sealed the perimeter and were now “inside looking for the terrorists”.

By yesterday afternoon, two assailants had been killed and the operation to retake the hotel was still underway, according to Colonel Salif Traore, Mali’s minister of interior security. The remaining attackers were holed up in a corner of the hotel, but there were no more hostages being held, he said.

According to the operators of the hotel, at least 125 guests and 13 employees were inside the hotel after the siege began. The hotel, operated by the Rezidor Hotel Group, is a popular place for foreigners to stay in the city of Bamako. French, American, Chinese and Indian citizens were among those taken hostage.

An American Defense official said that 12 to 15 Americans were believed to be at the hotel when the gunmen first arrived. Six Americans have been recovered safely from the hotel, he said. The status of the others is not clear. About 20 Indian citizens were in the hotel at the time of the attack but were evacuated safely, the Indian ambassador to Mali said.

A diplomat at the Chinese embassy in Bamako said eight Chinese business people had been trapped in the hotel, and embassy officials were in touch with some of the Chinese nationals via the messaging service WeChat.

A member of the UN peacekeeping force in Mali, who asked not to be identified, said there were many French people in the hotel, including Air France staff, along with a delegation for the International Organization of French Speakers. Air France later said in a statement 12 members of its crew were at the hotel and were freed.

The siege in Mali, a former French colony, came only a week after terrorists struck in Paris. It is still unclear who is responsible for the attack in Mali, but the country has long struggled with insurrection and Islamist extremism.

The United States Special Presidential Envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State, Brett McGurk, told MSNBC yesterday that “The groups in Mali aren’t particularly connected to the ISIS groups”, he added, using an acronym for Islamic State.

French and American special forces were also involved in the hostage recovery efforts.

A Malian journalist, Mr Kassim Traore, who was in a building about 50m from the hotel, said the attackers told hostages to recite a declaration of Muslim faith as a way of separating Muslims from non-Muslims.

Those who could recite the declaration, the Shahada, were allowed to leave the hotel. The Shabab, an Al Qaeda affiliate in East Africa, used a similar approach during an attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi in 2013.

Mr Kamissoko Lassine, the chief pastry chef in the hotel, said two armed men driving a vehicle with diplomatic plates arrived at the hotel between 7am and 7.30am, and were allowed to enter the compound by security. The gunmen then killed the guards and proceeded to take the hotel hostage.

Northern Mali fell under the control of Islamist militants in 2012. A French-led offensive ousted them in 2013, but remnants of the group have staged a number of attacks on UN peacekeepers and Malian forces as recently as August this year.

In 2013, Chinese combat troops participated for the first time in UN peacekeeping efforts in Mali. The move was considered a major change in China’s stance of remaining far away from any involvement in civil conflict. AGENCIES

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