Mali security forces said the two men are linked to the attack on the Raddison Blu hotel, a luxury hotel in West Africa known to host politicians and businessmen. Three senior executives of China Railway Construction Corp. were killed in a hostage-taking situation at a hotel in Mali’s capital Bamako.
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The statement identified the suspects as two Malians, both arrested in Bamako, but provided no other details on their background or their potential roles in the operation.
A source close to the investigation told the Reuters news agency that the suspects had been brought in for interrogation, based on information found on one of the attacker’s mobile phones.
The siege eventually ended hours later when commandos stormed the hotel and freed the hostages.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack in the country’s restless north but Islamic extremists are suspected.
“China expresses indignation at and strongly condemns this atrocity”, said Hong Lei, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, in a statement released one day after the attack.
The attack comes amid deteriorating security in the country just two years after a French-led military operation to scatter Islamist militants who briefly occupied the desert north.
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Germany, meanwhile is also ready to send up to 650 soldiers to help the United Nations force, which is now a few thousand men short to reaching its full strength of 12,680 men, although it’s not clear how much help the additional troop could actually contribute in expanding the scope of the mission.
