Jihadists suspected in deadly Mali hotel siege

A jihadist group is strongly suspected of carrying out the hotel siege in Mali that ended with the deaths of 13 people including five UN workers, a security source said on Sunday.

The Malian government said four Malian soldiers, five UN workers and four "terrorists" were killed during the protracted siege at the Byblos Hotel in the central town of Sevare, which was finally brought to an end by security forces early on Saturday.

The casualties included two Ukrainians, a Nepalese and a South African, according to the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which has coincided with a surge in jihadist violence spreading through the region in recent months.

"At this stage there is no formal proof that it was the Macina Liberation Front (FLM), but strong suspicions point to this group that has been seeking notoriety at all costs," the source said.

Since it first appeared earlier this year, the FLM has claimed it was responsible for a number of attacks, including some targeting security forces in central Mali. FLM is considered to be linked to Ansar Dine (Arabic for "Defenders of Faith"), which is one of the groups that took control of Mali's vast semi-arid north in April 2012. The United States placed Ansar Dine on its terror blacklist in 2013, accusing it of close links with al-Qaida and of torturing and killing opponents in the north.    (AFP)

Visit Qantara.de's dossier on Mali