Militants kill four civilians and soldier at Mali resort
Hunt for missing guest as European Union confirms two of its staff are dead
BAMAKO // Gunmen killed four civilians and a soldier at a Mali luxury resort popular with western expatriates near the capital Bamako, authorities said yesterday.
One guest was missing, they said.
The assailants attacked the hotel on Sunday afternoon, firing at guests and exchanging shots with security forces.
Two of those killed were working for the European Union, said the bloc’s foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini.
“I can confirm that there were two victims among our European Union colleagues, a Malian woman and a Portuguese man,” Ms Mogherini said.
“A Malian solider was killed and four civilians: one Franco- Malian, one Franco- Gabonese, one Chinese and one Portuguese,” said Mali’s security minister, Salif Traore.
Although the assailants succeeded in mounting a lethal attack, security forces backed by French and UN troops rescued 36 residents from the Campement Kangaba.
Mr Traore said that “five terrorists were killed” in operations that continued throughout the night.
The resort was cordoned off yesterday as a Malian anti-terrorist squad combed the area for the missing person.
Mr Traore said the militants had accomplices who had not been killed or detained. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
French troops and a 10,000-strong UN peacekeeping force have been battling to stabilise Mali, a former French colony, since France intervened in 2013 to push back extremists and allied Tuareg rebels who had taken over the country’s desert north a year earlier.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb and other Islamist groups have claimed frequent attacks on western targets in Mali and the wider West Africa area, including a raid on a Bamako hotel in 2015 in which 20 people died.
But analysts said security forces responded quicker this time.
“One thing is sure: they are becoming more responsive,” said Adam Thiam, a Malian analyst and expert on the conflict. He said this was partly because an elite counter-terrorism unit was now properly up and running. French president Emmanuel Macron spoke to the leader of Mali after the attack and pledged his country’s full support for the country, Mr Macron’s office said yesterday. “France condemns with utmost firmness this murderous attack,” said France’s foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian. The African Union condemned the attack and reiterated its commitment to support Mali in combating terrorism.
“I am tired, shocked,” said the resort owner, Manou Morgane, a French national.
“All I want to do is to see the list of my clients. I want to find them [anyone missing].”