International

Following Hostage Crisis, Mali Celebrates Its Heroes and Gets Back to Work

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Image Source: Magharebia, Flickr, Creative Commons 20110718 Mali arrests alleged al-Qaeda informants

Image Source: Magharebia, Flickr, Creative Commons
20110718 Mali arrests alleged al-Qaeda informants

Bamako, Mali (GVO) – Armed men attacked a hotel in Bamako and took 170 people hostage last Friday, November 20. According to the latest counts, at least 21 guests and staff are dead, as well as at least three terrorists. According to reports, gunfire erupted around 7 a.m. at the Radisson Blu hotel, when attackers breached the facility’s security system. Soon thereafter, Malian soldiers, assisted by Minusma (UN) forces and French GIGN (National Gendarmerie Intervention Group) forces, stormed the building to free the hostages, killing all the terrorists. An investigation is now underway to identify the assailants.

Mali has declared a state of emergency, while the group Al-Mourabitoun—an ally of Al-Qaeda—has claimed responsibility for the attack. The assault in Mali comes one week after the murderous attacks on Paris by ISIS (or Daesh as it is called in Arabic), which left 130 dead and more than 350 injured.

Hostages in Shock

Mali’s hostage situation ended late in the day, after a siege that lasted several hours.

Ali Yazbeck, a patisserie chef at the hotel, was injured by two bullets—one in the neck and the other in the back. In a hospital bed, after being rescued, he described what it was like to be a hostage: after one attacker wearing a turban shot him, he took cover in an office, where he encountered two waitresses:

He found us and fired at Awa, who was killed, and Sarah, who was injured. He said nothing, but afterwards he went back into the kitchen, where he took a piece of meat and grilled it for himself before turning on all the gas pipes in the kitchen.

Baïda and Penda Cissé run a cigarette stand at the street corner perpendicular to the Radisson’s entrance. Baida gives this account of the events:

A dark-skinned man in a military uniform was shooting at the hotel guards. When I saw first guard, and then a second, on the ground, I took cover.

Other accounts in the following video tell of corpses scattered about the hotel grounds:

Acts of Bravery

In an extremely tense situation, several acts of bravery and cool thinking helped to prevent further loss of life, as illustrated by the calm leadership of the maitre d’hôtel, Tamba Diarra.

Tamba Diarra described his experience during the attacks, explaining what he did to protect the hostages’ lives:

I encountered one of the jihadists […]. He was wearing a kepi, a long-sleeved blue shirt, [and] blue trousers. He put his kepi on the bar and pushed me, firing shots everywhere. To mount an effective response in the building, the intervention forces needed to know the layout of the premises. I guided them, door by door, corridor by corridor, floor by floor, so that everybody could be released. When guests called from their rooms, they were given the password “Tamba”. When there was a call, I told the soldiers: “Go to such-and-such floor, say the word ‘Tamba’ to the client, and then the guest will come out”.

Malian special forces also responded with commendable efficiency, demonstrating great professionalism and managing to save the vast majority of the hostages. On the Internet, a photograph of a Malian soldier carrying a hostage on his back to safety has become a viral sensation. Writing on Facebook, Boukary Konaté in Bamako shared his admiration for such heroism:

Apologies to the gentleman being carried, but I just want to express my admiration here for the Malian soldier who performed not only the task for which he joined the army, but also an act of humanity and solidarity…. I’m at a loss for words.

Most people in Mali have already returned to their ordinary economic activities, ignoring the risk of more terrorist attacks and the national state of emergency (which is still in force). In the following video, Mrs. Djero, a fish vendor, explains why the attacks will not affect her everyday life:

Mali is a poor country. If we stop working—even for just one day—we have nothing to live on. We are deeply shocked by the attack, but we have to go on living.

Written by Rakotomalala Translated by Elizabeth Tamblin for Global Voices Online.
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