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Mali hotel siege: 'Hostage situation' in Sevare Mali hotel siege: Gunmen take hostages in deadly raid
(about 4 hours later)
Soldiers in Mali have surrounded a hotel in the central town of Sevare where suspected Islamist militants are holding at least one foreign hostage, a defence spokesman has told the BBC. At least eight people have been killed in the town of Sevare in central Mali after gunmen attacked a hotel, officials say.
"At this stage we can confirm there are dead and wounded on all sides, and hostages," Lt Col Diarran Kone said. The army said the dead included at least three soldiers and two gunmen. An unknown number of hostages are still being held at the Byblos Hotel.
Ukraine's foreign ministry says one of its nationals is being held hostage. Russia and Ukraine have each said that one of their citizens was being held in the siege.
Residents told the BBC that before the attack, gunmen on motorbikes warned people via loudhailers to go indoors. Mali has been fighting Islamist rebels in the north for a number of years.
Sevare has an air force base and some UN peacekeepers are in the town. Army spokesman Lt Col Diarran Kone told the Associated Press that the operation to free hostages was ongoing.
The BBC's Alex Duval Smith in Mali says the town, which is about 600km (370 miles) north-east of the capital, Bamako, is the trading hub that serves the historic riverside city of Mopti. The BBC's Alex Duval Smith in Mali says the town, which is about 600km (370 miles) north-east of the capital, Bamako, is a trading hub that serves the historic riverside city of Mopti.
The Byblos Hotel, scene of the ongoing incident, was reportedly attacked early on Friday morning by gunmen who had spent the night at the nearby Debo Hotel. There are several hotels near each other in the town that are popular with UN workers and those working for non-governmental organisations, she says.
"An armed attack has been carried out on a hotel in Mali, and a Ukrainian national is among the hostages. Jointly with our international partners, we are taking urgent steps to free our citizen," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Mariana Betsa said on Twitter. A spokesman for the Russian embassy in Mali said one of those being held was a Russian citizen. Earlier, officials in Kiev said a Ukrainian citizen was also believed to have been captured.
Our reporter says there are several hotels near each other in the town that are popular with UN workers and those working for non-governmental organisations. The BBC has learned that guests from France, South Africa and Ukraine are registered at the hotels.
The BBC has learned that guests from France, South Africa and Ukraine are registered at the hotels, but it is not clear if they are caught up in the operation.
UN spokeswoman Radhia Achouri refused to say whether any UN members of staff had been affected or were being held hostage in the Byblos Hotel.UN spokeswoman Radhia Achouri refused to say whether any UN members of staff had been affected or were being held hostage in the Byblos Hotel.
A resident in the same neighbourhood as the hotel said: "We have never seen anything like this is Sevare. A local resident told the BBC that it was the first time the city has been hit by an attack like this.
"In 2012, the jihadists from the north were stopped at Konna, about 50km from here. So we only saw the war on television. Now that it has come to Sevare we are all traumatised." "Since the beginning of the fighting in Mali, we haven't experienced such a situation in Sevare.
Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants have been fighting the army in northern Mali for a number of years. "We would expect these things to happen in Gao or Timbuktu, but this the first time it has happened in Sevare," he said.
Al-Qaeda-linked militants have been fighting the army in northern Mali.
France, the former colonial power in Mali, intervened in January 2013 to stop their advance south to the capital.France, the former colonial power in Mali, intervened in January 2013 to stop their advance south to the capital.
Militancy in MaliMilitancy in Mali