Two killed as suspected jihadists open fire in Mali resort and take holidaymakers hostage

SOLDIERS in Mali were last night attempting to end what appeared to be a terrorist attack on a resort popular with foreigners in the capital.

At least two people were killed in the attack, which began around 4:30pm at Le Campement, half an hour southeast of Bamako.

“The first victim was a French-gabonese citizen. We are in the process of confirming the other’s nationality,” said Baba Cisse, security ministry spokesman.

The attackers took dozens of people hostage, with security forces in Mali saying that 20 had been freed. It was unclear how many remained in captivity. Modibo Traore, a spokesman for the Malian special forces in the former French colony, said there were three or four attackers.

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.

The resort features a hotel and restaurant with three small swimming pools. A UN official said those at the resort when the attack began included people affiliated with the French military mission, as well as the UN.

Mali is currently home to 1,600 French soldiers, stationed in the north of the country on the largest French military base outside of France.

“I heard gunfire coming from the camp and I saw people running out of the tourist site,” said Modibo Diarra, who lives nearby. “I learned that it was a terrorist attack.”

More than an hour after the first reports of the incident, helicopters hovered over the site and a large black plume of smoke billowed into the sky.

Last week the US state department updated its travel advice to warn its citizens of an increased threat of attack in Bamako. “The US Embassy informs US citizens of a possible increased threat of attacks against Western diplomatic missions, places of worship, and other locations in Bamako where Westerners frequent,” it said.

The Foreign Office issued advice that Britons should avoid “all but essential travel” to the African nation. Britons are, however, told not to go to the areas of Timbuktu, Kidal, Gao and Mopti, and parts of other provinces.