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| At least two dead after attack at Mali tourist resort near Bamako | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At least two people have been killed after a tourist resort near Bamako, the capital of Mali, was attacked, according to a spokesman at the country’s security ministry and witnesses. | |
| A spokesman for the country’s security ministry said one of the dead was a French national but the nationality of the other person killed was not known. | |
| Malian troops and soldiers from France’s Barkhane counter-terrorism force were called to Le Campement in Dougourakoro, a resort popular with westerners east of Bamako. Residents nearby reported hearing shots fired while smoke billowed into the air. | Malian troops and soldiers from France’s Barkhane counter-terrorism force were called to Le Campement in Dougourakoro, a resort popular with westerners east of Bamako. Residents nearby reported hearing shots fired while smoke billowed into the air. |
| “Security forces are in place. Campement Kangaba is blocked off and an operation is under way,” said a security ministry spokesman, Baba Cisse. “The situation is under control.” | “Security forces are in place. Campement Kangaba is blocked off and an operation is under way,” said a security ministry spokesman, Baba Cisse. “The situation is under control.” |
| Witness Boubacar Sangare was just outside the compound during the attack. “Westerners were fleeing the encampment while two plainclothes police exchanged fire with the assailants,” he said. | |
| “There were four national police vehicles and French soldiers in armoured vehicles on the scene.” He added that a helicopter was circling overhead. | |
| A spokesman for French forces in Mali declined to immediately comment. | |
| The west African country has been battling a jihadi insurgency for several years, with Islamist fighters roaming the north and centre of Mali. | The west African country has been battling a jihadi insurgency for several years, with Islamist fighters roaming the north and centre of Mali. |
| In November 2015, gunmen took guests and staff hostage at the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako in a siege that left at least 20 people dead, including 14 foreigners. | In November 2015, gunmen took guests and staff hostage at the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako in a siege that left at least 20 people dead, including 14 foreigners. |
| That attack was claimed by Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). | That attack was claimed by Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). |
| A state of emergency has been renewed several times since the Radisson Blu attack, most recently in April when it was extended for six months. | A state of emergency has been renewed several times since the Radisson Blu attack, most recently in April when it was extended for six months. |
| In 2012 Mali’s north fell under the control of jihadi groups linked to AQIM that hijacked an ethnic Tuareg-led rebel uprising, though the Islamists were largely ousted by a French-led military operation in January 2013. | In 2012 Mali’s north fell under the control of jihadi groups linked to AQIM that hijacked an ethnic Tuareg-led rebel uprising, though the Islamists were largely ousted by a French-led military operation in January 2013. |
| But jihadis have mounted numerous attacks on civilians and the army, as well as on French and UN forces still stationed there. | But jihadis have mounted numerous attacks on civilians and the army, as well as on French and UN forces still stationed there. |