Mali: Security forces hunt for three suspects connected to hotel attack

The area remains vulnerable to attacks despite a military operation led by France in 2013, which came after the UN Security Council passed a resolution on the deployment of a peacekeeping force known as the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

While no group has claimed to be behind the attack, it comes just days after the Iyad Ag Ghaly, the leader of the al Qaeda linked militant group Ansar Dine, called for attacks on France and its interests in Mali.

The former French colony has battled Islamic extremism for years, with Friday’s attacks in Bamako highlighting the crumbling peace process between the city and northern groups, such as the Tuaregs. At that time, the armed forces with the assistance from dozens of USA militaries withdrew hostages from the hotel. “They were firing inside the hotel, in the corridors”, Diabate said.

The film clearly shows bodies, bullet holes and shattered glass inside the Raddison Blu hotel in Bamako in the aftermath of the atrocity.

On Monday, the Massina Liberation Front, which has been blamed for previous attacks in southern Mali, became the third group to claim responsibility for the siege.

Salif Traore said Saturday at a press conference that 17 guests were also injured along with three Malian police officers.

The Brussels-based Rezidor Hotel group that operates the hotel said early on that the assailants had “locked in” 140 guests and 30 employees.

Mali’s government declared a 10-day nationwide state of emergency after a jihadist attack on a hotel in the capital Bamako that left least 27 people dead.

A Turkish official said three of six Turkish Airlines staff who had been in the hotel had managed to flee.

“We are devastated that Anita is gone”, her family said in a statement issued through the US State Department.

Malian authorities on Sunday were searching for three suspects in connection with a terrorist attack at a hotel in the capital last week. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also confirmed Saturday that three Chinese nationals were among the dead, and that four other Chinese citizens had been rescued.

“We know that the Malian people join us in denouncing these savage acts of terrorism, and the United States stands with them in their efforts to ensure a peaceful, secure, and prosperous Mali”.