Gunmen Attack Luxury Hotel in Mali Capital
Attackers stormed a luxury Radisson Hotel in Bamako with reports suggesting 170 hostages taken. The Washington Post reports no immediate claims of responsibility or motivation, but extremists vie for attention with attacks on soft targets. “Mali – home to the famous ancient city of Timbuktu – has been at the center of a French-backed effort to drive back Islamist rebels that once had control over large portions of the vast nation, which stretches from tropical West Africa to desert regions bordering Algeria,” explain Sarah Kaplan and Brian Murphy. The city "serves as a logistics hub for French and American forces helping fight Islamist insurgents." Hotel guests included UN officials organizing Mali peace talks. Militants took control of the northern section of the country in 2012. French troops intervened to push them back the next year. The report offers a short list of other attacks. Violence combined with poverty is driving waves of refugees to flee northern Africa. – YaleGlobal
Gunmen Attack Luxury Hotel in Mali Capital
With French support, Mali has been fighting rebels since 2012; the taking of up to 170 hostages, attack on Radisson Hotel in Bamako, disrupts peace talks
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Kevin Sieff has been The Post’s bureau chief in Nairobi since 2014. He served previously as the bureau chief in Kabul and had covered the US-Mexico border. Sarah Kaplan is a reporter for Morning Mix. Brian Murphy joined the Post after more than 20 years as a foreign correspondent and bureau chief for the Associated Press in Europe and the Middle East. He has reported from more than 50 countries and has written three books. Liu Liu contributed reporting from Beijing.
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