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Gunman killed in attack on Mali’s EU military mission

Tuesday, 22 March 2016 1:34 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 22 March 2016 1:39 AM ]

Soldiers stand next to the body of an attacker killed during a raid on the European Union military mission in Bamako, Mali, March 21, 2016. (Photo by AP)

A gunman has been killed and two suspects detained during an attack on a hotel hosting a European Union military training mission in Mali's capital Bamako.

On Monday evening, "four people tried to force their way through the barricade firing shots," a witness told AFP. "One of the four was neutralized. We are searching for the three others."

*Malian police officers stand guard in a street near a hotel hosting an EU military training mission during an attack in Bamako on March 21, 2016. (AFP)*

The West African country’s Interior Security Minister Colonel Salif Traoré said, “two suspects were arrested and are being interrogated."

No group or individual has yet claimed responsibility for the raid.

*European soldiers walk in a street during an attack targeting a hotel hosting an EU military training mission in Bamako on March 21, 2016. (AFP)*

The European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM Mali) said in a post on Twitter that none of its personnel had been harmed in the attack.

Security forces cordoned off the area while a clean-up operation was underway.

Mali has been witnessing violence linked to militant activity in its northern regions since 2012. The area remains vulnerable to attacks despite a military intervention led by France in 2013.

Last June, Tuareg separatists, who have launched a number of uprisings since the 1960s, signed a peace deal with the Malian government. The peace agreement, brokered by Algeria, raised hopes for an end to years of unrest in the country; however, its implementation has proven challenging.

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