US denounces Mali attack

PARIS: US Secretary of State John Kerry denounced on Saturday a “horrific and cowardly” attack on a nightclub in the Mali capital Bamako that left at least five people dead.

“These horrific and cowardly attacks, these acts of terrorism... an act of opening fire on a restaurant filled with innocent civilians, only strengthens our resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms wherever it lives,” Kerry said.

At least one masked gunman sprayed bullets in the club popular with foreigners early Saturday, killing five people including a French person and a Belgian national, officials and witnesses said.

Nine people were wounded including two experts at the UN mission, said the UN stabilization mission in Mali in a statement. The Swiss Defense Ministry said the two were Swiss soldiers.

Mali’s president and prime minister visited the scene and called it “a criminal and terrorist act.” A government statement said an investigation has been opened and pledged to bring the perpetrators to book.

France and Belgium condemned the attack at La Terrasse restaurant and bar in Bamako and their foreign ministers confirmed the deaths of their nationals.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders denounced a “cowardly act of terror” and France’s Laurent Fabius said “everything must be done to find those responsible for this crime.”

The Belgian killed was security officer for the European Union, said EU president Donald Tusk. “The European Union will not be intimidated by terrorism, at home or abroad,” said Tusk. “We will remain steadfast in support of Mali and its people.”

Two people who were at the scene are being questioned to determine what happened, said a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press.