A siege in a luxury hotel in Mali in which gunmen held over 100 people captive and killed at least 18 people has ended after security forces stormed the building.
Armed with guns and grenades, around 10 men entered the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in the Malian capital of Bamako shouting “Allahu Akbar”, or God is great in Arabic, before opening fire on guards. Witnesses reported hearing bursts of gunfire during the siege.
As officials worked to free all of those being held inside the building, images emerged showing security forces leading hostages away from a hotel.
As the hostage situation unfolded, 125 guests and 13 employees were held captive, according to the Brussels-based Rezidor Hotel group that operates the hotel chain – revising an earlier statement which said that 140 guests and 30 employees were involved.
The men then began working their way through the building, room by room, floor by floor, according to a senior security source.
Malian army commander Modibo Nama Traore later said that 20 people had since been released. Other guests were reportedly able to escape the hotel, while others were freed after proving they could recite verses from the Koran, security source said.
A Belgian diplomat named Geoffrey Dieudonne was among those killed. Earlier officials confirmed that two Malians and one French national was among the dead.
Credit: Independent
