Malian army troops surrounded a hotel that had been stormed by jihadists on Friday in the central town of Sevare as the soldiers tried to save people trapped inside, a defense ministry adviser said.
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Earlier on Friday a Malian army spokesman said that three Russian pilots had been kidnapped during the siege, although the Russian Embassy in Bamako denied the claim.
Early reports indicated the body of one victim was visible in front of the building, but there has been no official confirmation on casualties.
Malian troops are surroundng the Byblos hotel in the desert town of Sevare in the Mopti region of the country.
Mr Dembele also said personnel from the MINUSMA UN peacekeeping operation were believed to have escaped from the hotel.
Another resident said she woken up this morning by gun shots.
At least five foreigners – three South Africans, a French national and a Ukrainian – were registered at the hotel, according to several sources. “I see the smoke from the hotel”, he said.
Attacks by extremists on Malian army positions have moved into central and southern Mali this year. The United Nations has deployed the MINUSMA force in the country’s north, following the area’s Islamist occupation.
Residents are now hiding in their homes and it is not clear if there have been any casualties.
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At least four people, including two soldiers, were killed in an attack on a military base and a hotel frequented by Westerners in Mali, security sources told Anadolu Agency. “It was a white man but I don’t know his nationality”, said airport worker Moussa Diallo. And in late June, gunmen killed three soldiers in a village near the border with Mauritania, then the next day briefly extremists occupied a village near the border with Ivory Coast.
