Guinea President Alpha Conde says he will announce a three-day mourning period for victims of Friday’s attack on a luxury hotel in neighboring Mali’s capital that killed 19 people.
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Heavily-armed attackers shouting “God is great!” in Arabic burst into Radisson Blu in Bamako on Friday, seizing dozens of hostages and sparking an hours-long siege by troops backed by US and French special forces.
The Al-Murabitoun group, an Al-Qaeda affiliate led by notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, nicknamed the “Uncatchable” or “Mr Marlboro”, claimed the attack.
Keita said that Mali will not shut down just as Paris and NY did not close down after 9/11 and the deadly storm of attacks respectively.
Gunmen invaded the hotel on Friday morning and went on the rampage, shooting in the corridors and taking 170 guests and staff hostage.
The assault, which ended when Malian and global forces stormed the hotel, left 19 people dead, mostly foreigners.
Salif Traore said Saturday at a press conference that 17 guests were also injured along with three Malian police officers.
The Radisson hotel, located in Mali’s western business district alongside government ministries, was likely a target due to the worldwide clientele it attracts, including foreign diplomats, aid workers and security contractors.
Malian authorities on Sunday were searching for three suspects in connection with a terrorist attack at a hotel in the capital last week.
Despite the state of emergency imposed since late Friday, residents of Bamako were trying to return to normal life.
“We should yet again stand firm and show our solidarity with a friendly country, Mali”, said French President Francois Hollande.
It’s still playing an active military role there although it is up to Malian forces to react first to any situation.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said six of its citizens died in the raid, while China’s government said three Chinese were killed. The statement from the Al-Mourabitoun (The Sentinels) group was carried by the Al-Jazeera network and said the assault was in cooperation with al-Qaida’s “Sahara Emirate”.
Sky’s Alex Rossi, in Bamako, said it is not clear whether those being sought were involved in the attack or if they helped coordinate it.
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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.
