Mali: Fear reigns one year after hotel attack

Security was beefed up in the Malian capital Bamako just over a year after Islamic militants took 120 guests hostage at the Radison Blu Hotel.

Twenty of the hostages were killed in a mass shooting.

The headquaters of the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, and other government buildings have all set up sandbag perimeter walls and deployed more security personnel.

“It has been one year since the attack occurred on Nov. 20. Now we have the best security system. We have police and troops stationed here. We have powerful security teams, including 12 policemen and 12 soldiers. They are responsible for guarding here for 24 hours a day.“Security has been beefed up in the Malian capital Bamako just over a year after Islamic militants took 120 guests hostage at the Radison Blu Hotel.

Twenty of the hostages were killed in a mass shooting.

The headquaters of the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, and other government buildings all set up sandbag perimeter walls and deployed more security personnel.

“It has been one year since the attack occurred on Nov. 20. Now we have the best security system. We have police and troops stationed here. We have powerful security teams, including 12 policemen and 12 soldiers. They are responsible for guarding here for 24 hours a day.” said Idrissa Kante? Security Manager of Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako.

Ansar Dine, a Tuareg jihadist group linked to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), has claimed several recent attacks in multiple regions throughout Mali.

Their bone of contention? a French intervention set up to oust the Jihadists from the north.

Reuters