Siege over as special forces free hostages at hotel in Mali

French President Francois Hollande on Friday pledged “necessary support” to the former French colony, whose porous borders and vast unoccupied areas have allowed Islamic jihadists to infiltrate and plan attacks.

The attack appears to have had an immediate effect on the country’s tourism industry with one major hotel saying it had received numerous cancellations, and that restaurant and business centre reservations were down.

The heavily armed assailants seized dozens of hostages at the hotel popular with foreigners, sparking a siege by Malian troops backed by USA and French special forces which lasted more than seven hours.

Islamist gunmen stormed the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali and took 170 people hostage on Friday, Reuters reported.

The gunmen entered the hotel, which houses 190 rooms and sheltered 140 people of different nationalities, on a vehicle with diplomatic plate, said Traore.

Some people were freed by the attackers after showing they could recite verses from the Koran, while others managed to escape or were brought out by security forces.

The attack came a week after devastating strikes in Paris that killed 130 people claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which also said it had downed a Russian passenger jet in Egypt weeks before.

According to a press statement issued by the Seychelles Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Transport, the Seychellois Head of State has “firmly condemned” the attack which he describes a “despicable and cowardly act”.

President Xi Jinping of China said, “China will strengthen cooperation with the worldwide community, resolutely crack down on violent terrorist operations that devastate innocent lives and safeguard world peace and security”.

Northern Mali has been unstable since falling to Islamists and Tuareg separatists in 2012, after a military coup. The militant group also claimed responsibility for downing a Russian airliner over Egypt three weeks ago, killing all 224 people aboard. While Libyan officials said he had been killed, their US counterparts never confirmed his death publicly.

“Mali will not shut down because of this attack”, Keita said.

An emergency cabinet meeting chaired by Keita declared a 10-day state of emergency to help the search for “terrorists on the run and possible accomplices” and three days of mourning to start on Monday.