Mali Declares 10-Day State of Emergency Following Hotel Attack

Mali’s government declared a 10-day nationwide state of emergency, after an attack on a hotel in the capital Bamako that left least 27 people dead.

Following a crisis cabinet session on Friday evening presided over by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita the government “declared a state of emergency across the nation” starting at midnight Friday for 10 days, a statement read on national radio said, AFP reported.

It also called for three days of mourning for the victims of the attack, which was claimed by the Al-Murabitoun group of notorious Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar in an audio recording broadcast by Al-Jazeera television.

Extremists armed with guns and grenades stormed the Radisson hotel in Mali’s capital Friday, and security forces swarmed in to free guests floor by floor.

As evening fell, officials said no more hostages were being held and that at least 27 people had been killed. Shooting continued into the late afternoon, and a UN official said two attackers had been killed.