Islamic extremists armed with guns and
throwing grenades stormed the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital
Friday morning, killing at least three people and initially taking
numerous hostages, authorities said.
The Brussels-based Rezidor Hotel group that operates the hotel said the assailants had "locked in" 140 guests and 30 employees.
Malian
troops reacted quickly. As people ran for their lives near the hotel
along a dirt road, the soldiers in full combat gear pointed the way to
safety. Within hours, local TV images showed heavily armed troops in
what appeared to be a lobby area. Malian state TV reported that 80
people in the hotel when the assault began have been freed.
Malian
special forces were freeing hostages "floor by floor," Malian army
commander Modibo Nama Traore told The Associated Press.
Report has it that at least one guest was instructed to recite verses from the Quran before he was allowed to leave the
hotel.
It was not immediately clear which Muslim extremist groups
might be behind the attack, which unfolded one week after the attacks on
Paris that killed 129 people. A handful of jihadi groups seized the
northern half of Mali — a former French colony — in 2012 and were ousted
from cities and towns by a French military intervention.
People run to flee from the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali, Friday, Nov. 20, 2015.
French President Francois Hollande said: "We should yet again stand firm and show our solidarity with a friendly country, Mali."
Report has it that 10 gunmen had stormed the hotel shouting "Allahu Akbar," or "God
is great," in Arabic before firing on the guards. A staffer at the hotel
who gave his name as Tamba Diarra said over the phone that the
attackers used grenades in the assault.
The U.S. Embassy in Mali
told citizens to shelter in place amid reports of an "ongoing active
shooter operation" at the hotel in Bamako.
Monique Kouame Affoue
Ekonde, from Ivory Coast, said she and six other people, including a
Turkish woman, were escorted out by security forces as the gunmen rushed
"toward the fifth or sixth floor."
"I think they are still there. I've left the hotel and I don't know where to go. I'm tired and in a state of shock," she said.
A top official at the French presidency said French citizens
were in the hotel but could not give more. The official spoke
anonymously in line with presidency policy.
Belgian foreign
minister Didier Reynders said that four Belgians were registered at the
hotel but their whereabouts were unknown.
Citing Chinese diplomats
in Mali, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that about 10 Chinese
citizens were sheltering inside their hotel rooms. The embassy was in
phone contact with them and all were reported safe, according to the
report. All are employees of Chinese companies working in Mali.
Five Turkish Airlines personnel were among the freed hostages, Turkey's state-run news agency said.
The
website of the official China Daily newspaper also cited an
unidentified witness as saying one Chinese citizen had been rescued.
Onlookers gather near the Radisson Blu hotel after gunmen stormed the building in Bamako, Mali.
The U.N. mission said it was sending security reinforcements
and medical aid to the scene. Ambulances were seen rushing to the hotel
as a military helicopter flew overhead.
Even after the French-led
military intervention in early 2013 that forced the extremists from
northern towns and cities, the north remains insecure and militant
attacks have extended farther south this year, including the capital. In
March masked gunmen shot up a restaurant in Bamako that is popular with
foreigners, killing five people.
About
1,000 French troops remain in the country. The Netherlands also has
troops working with the UN mission in Mali. According to the Dutch
defense ministry, some 450 Dutch military personnel are taking part in
the mission along with four Apache and three Chinook helicopters. Most
of the Dutch force is based in Gao, but there are a few officers at the
U.N. mission headquarters in Bamako.
Source: AP
