At least 12 killed as Mali hotel siege ends
BAMAKO — At least 12 people including four foreign UN contractors died in a hostage siege at a hotel in central Mali that ended after government troops stormed the building.
"There are 12 dead in all," an army officer told AFP after the operation at the Hotel Byblos in Sevare, listing the fatalities as five "terrorists", five soldiers and "two white people".
A senior source in the Malian army said the final toll had yet to be confirmed and would "probably" be higher.
The UN mission in Mali MINUSMA for its part said two Ukrainians, a Nepalese and a South African were killed in the almost 24-hour-long drama, as well as a Malian driver working for a company contracted by the mission.
It said four other UN contractors -- two South Africans, a Russian and a Ukrainian - were rescued and were in "good health."
"The attackers did not detect their presence in the hotel and MINUSMA was in permanent contact with them throughout the attack and until its end," it added.
South Africa's foreign ministry said a 38-year-old man from Pretoria was killed in the siege while two other South Africans were safe.
Local media identified the victim as Roelof Janse van Rensburg. A foreign ministry spokesman said he was working for an aviation company hired by MINUSMA.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry said four of its nationals were caught up in the attack, one of whom was killed. One managed to escape while the other two were rescued in the dawn raid by security forces.