Mali begins mourning as police follow leads to Friday hotel attack

BAMAKO, Monday

Mali started three days of national mourning for the victims of the jihadist siege at a luxury hotel that left 19 people dead, with neighbouring Senegal, Mauritania and Guinea joining in a show of solidarity.

Police said the investigation was following several lines, with no certainty about the number and nationality of the perpetrators of the attacks, which have been claimed by two jihadist groups.

Gunmen went on the rampage at the Radisson Blu Hotel from early morning on Friday, shooting in the corridors and taking 170 guests and staff hostage.

The assault, which ended when Malian and international troops stormed the building, left 19 people dead, including 14 foreigners, as well as two attackers, according to a report by the government.

The victims included six Russians, three Chinese, two Belgians, an American, an Israeli, a Senegalese and a member of the Malian special forces.

The UN peacekeeping force in Mali, Minusma, however spoke of 22 fatalities, including two attackers.

Senegal’s President Macky Sall visited Bamako on Sunday to show solidarity and the support of the West African regional bloc Ecowas, which he chairs.

“Mali will never be alone in this fight. We are committed because we are all involved,” he said, announcing that Senegal, Mauritania and Guinea would also observe three days of mourning.

AL-MURABITOUN TERROR GROUP

Al-Murabitoun group, an Al-Qaeda affiliate led by notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group said there were only two attackers and suggested they were Malian.

In a recording broadcast by Al-Jazeera, a spokesman identified them as Abdelhakim al-Ansari and Moez al-Ansari, with the term “al-Ansari” indicating they were indigenous jihadists.

A jihadist group from central Mali, the Macina Liberation Front (LWF), however claimed the attack in a statement sent to AFP on Sunday, saying it was carried out by a squad of five, including “three who came out safe and sound”.

A Malian security source told AFP that the authorities were pursuing at least three people over the attack in the former French colony.

TWO FOREIGNERS BEING PURSUED

Another informed source spoke of three or four accomplices believed to have aided the foreign gunmen who attacked the hotel frequented by businessmen, diplomats and other expatriates.

“Everything points to two foreigners,” the source said.

“It is likely that the two foreigners went from bar to bar so they would not be noticed, and at dawn. The Malians could have guided them in the attack,” the same source said.

Investigators were combing through the hotel and had found several items which could help with the enquiry, a police source said.

“We are following several lines, but we won’t be making a statement,” the police source told AFP.

Guinean Conakry singer Sekouba Bambino Diabate, who was among those rescued, told journalists that the gunmen spoke English among themselves.