At least 5 dead in ‘terrorist attack’ on restaurant in Mali capital

Militants killed five people including a French citizen and a Belgian citizen in a gun attack on a restaurant in Mali’s capital in the early hours of Saturday, authorities said. The shooting at La Terrasse restaurant, which is popular with expatriates, began at around 1am, a senior security official said. Those killed included a girl who died in hospital, a police driver and a security guard. A further 10 were hospitalised with injuries.

There were two individuals who were armed and hooded. One burst into the La Terrasse restaurant and opened fire. Then he got into a vehicle in which the other was waiting. As they fled down a neighbouring street, they shot a Belgian man who was in front of his house. He’s dead. Not far away they came across a police vehicle and threw a grenade, killing the driver.

Senior police officer Falaye Kanté

France and Belgium condemned the attack at La Terrasse restaurant in Bamako and their foreign ministers each confirmed that one of their nationals had been killed. Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders denounced a “cowardly act of terror” and France’s Laurent Fabius said “everything must be done to find those responsible for this crime.” Mali’s desert north, where French forces wrested control of territory from separatist rebels and al Qaeda-linked militants, is hit by frequent political violence, but this is the first such attack for years in the capital Bamako in the south.

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