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| Mali hotel attack: armed forces hunt more than three suspects | Mali hotel attack: armed forces hunt more than three suspects |
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| Malian security forces were hunting more than three suspects after jihadis attacked a luxury hotel in the capital, killing 20 people plus two assailants, an army commander has said. | |
| Malians awoke to a state of emergency after Friday’s assault in downtown Bamako that was claimed by an extremist group formed by notorious Algerian militant Moktar Belmoktar. The statement from al-Mourabitounes (the Sentinels) group was carried by al-Jazeera and said the assault was carried out with al-Qaida’s “Sahara emirate”. | Malians awoke to a state of emergency after Friday’s assault in downtown Bamako that was claimed by an extremist group formed by notorious Algerian militant Moktar Belmoktar. The statement from al-Mourabitounes (the Sentinels) group was carried by al-Jazeera and said the assault was carried out with al-Qaida’s “Sahara emirate”. |
| “The search has started and I can tell you that we are looking for more than three people at the moment,” said Maj Modibo Nama Traore on Saturday. | “The search has started and I can tell you that we are looking for more than three people at the moment,” said Maj Modibo Nama Traore on Saturday. |
| Related: Mali hotel attack – in pictures | Related: Mali hotel attack – in pictures |
| The heavily armed assailants seized dozens of hostages at the hotel popular with foreigners, sparking a siege by Malian troops backed by US and French special forces which lasted more than seven hours. More than 180 people were held before being freed by a combination of Malian and international special forces. | |
| It has since emerged that the dead includes one American, a 41-year-old development worker, three Chinese visitors described by state media as senior executives, and six Russians who worked for regional airline Volga-Dnepr, Interfax reported. | It has since emerged that the dead includes one American, a 41-year-old development worker, three Chinese visitors described by state media as senior executives, and six Russians who worked for regional airline Volga-Dnepr, Interfax reported. |
| The US victim was named as Anita Ashok Datar, an expert in public health, Peace Corps volunteer and mother of a young boy. | The US victim was named as Anita Ashok Datar, an expert in public health, Peace Corps volunteer and mother of a young boy. |
| “We are devastated that Anita is gone,” her family said in a statement issued through the US State Department. “It’s unbelievable to us that she has been killed in this senseless act of violence and terrorism.” | |
| President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced the 10-day nationwide state of emergency beginning on Friday night at midnight. He said a three-day period of national mourning was due to begin on Monday, with flags flying at half-mast. Keita had been attending a security summit in Chad on Friday but returned to Mali and convened an emergency cabinet meeting. | President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced the 10-day nationwide state of emergency beginning on Friday night at midnight. He said a three-day period of national mourning was due to begin on Monday, with flags flying at half-mast. Keita had been attending a security summit in Chad on Friday but returned to Mali and convened an emergency cabinet meeting. |
| Northern Mali has been unstable since it fell to Tuareg separatists and Islamic extremists following a military coup in 2012. Despite a French-led military intervention in 2013 that drove the extremists from cities and towns, attacks have continued and extended farther south this year, including an assault on a Bamako restaurant popular with foreigners in March. | Northern Mali has been unstable since it fell to Tuareg separatists and Islamic extremists following a military coup in 2012. Despite a French-led military intervention in 2013 that drove the extremists from cities and towns, attacks have continued and extended farther south this year, including an assault on a Bamako restaurant popular with foreigners in March. |
| Even before the attack ended on Friday, some officials said it highlighted the need for tighter security measures and stricter surveillance. “Today we have an emergency. These terrorists are a global threat that we need to attack globally,” said lawmaker Amadou Thiam, a vice-president of Mali’s parliament. “Our government needs to introduce stricter identification and information systems so that we can track everybody.” | Even before the attack ended on Friday, some officials said it highlighted the need for tighter security measures and stricter surveillance. “Today we have an emergency. These terrorists are a global threat that we need to attack globally,” said lawmaker Amadou Thiam, a vice-president of Mali’s parliament. “Our government needs to introduce stricter identification and information systems so that we can track everybody.” |