Two people killed dozens rescued, after Gunmen storm resort in Malian capital Bamako

At least two people have been killed after an attack on a
popular tourist resort on the outskirts of Mali's capital,
Bamako, according to officials, but dozens of guests 
were rescued.

Gunmen stormed the luxury Le Campement Kangaba complex near Dougourakoro on Sunday, attacking a 
resort frequented by top officials and foreign residents, especially during the weekend.

Malian troops and soldiers from France's Bakhane 
counter- terrorist force headed to the scene. Local 
residents reported hearing shots fired while smoke billowed into the air.

Mali's Security Minister Salif Traore said late on Sunday 
that at least four attackers were killed by security forces.

"We have recovered the bodies of two attackers who were
killed," Traore told journalists, adding that they were 
"searching for the bodies of two others", without specifying 
if any more were on the run.

"At first we thought they were armed bandits but we know
how armed bandits operate, they don't hold territory, so 
now we think it is a terrorist attack," Traore had earlier told
reporters outside the entrance to the resort, part of 
which was on fire.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Officials said two people had been killed, including a 
French- Gabonese citizen and another whose nationality 
was not yet known.

Two others had been wounded, one civilian and a 
policeman, Baba Cisse, spokesman for the security 
ministry, told the Reuters news agency. An attacker had 
also been wounded and fled, leaving a sub-machine gun 
and six bottles of explosives behind, he said.

Malian state TV reported that 36 guests had so far been
rescued. At least 14 people, both Malians and foreigners,
were wounded, according to the security ministry.

A witness told local television ORTM said he saw a man 
arrive on a motorcycle who "started shooting at the crowd" followed by "two or three people" who came in another 
vehicle.

Witness Boubacar Sangare was just outside the 
compound during the attack. "Westerners were fleeing the encampment while two plainclothes police exchanged fire with the assailants," he told Reuters.

A security ministry official said government troops 
"have sealed off the area and are in the process of 
organising operations" against the attackers.

French President Emmanuel Macron pledged "full support"
 to Mali's leader in a phone call after the attack, Macron's office said on Monday.

Andrea de Georgio, a freelance journalist in Bamako, 
said the resort is located about 10km outside the capital.

He told ERICGOSSIP that the attack seemed to be "well-
organised".

"The attackers are hidden inside the camp, and the 
camp is very big so there are a lot of places where they 
can hide," de Georgio said.

An ERICGOSSIP affiliate, Michael daw reporting from neighbouring Senegal, quoted sources as saying that 
security forces have be going door-to-door inside the 
resort, making sure that the fighters are apprehended or driven out.

Security threats

The west African country has been battling armed 
rebellion for several years, with fighters roaming the north 
and centre of Mali.

The US embassy in Bamako had warned earlier this month 
"of a possible increased threat of attacks against Western
diplomatic missions, places of worship, and other locations in
Bamako where Westerners frequent".

In November 2015, gunmen took guests and staff hostage 
at the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako in a siege that 
left at least 20 people dead, including 14 foreigners.

That attack was claimed by al-Qaeda's North African
 affiliate, the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group.

A state of emergency has been renewed several times 
since the Radisson Blu attack, most recently in April when it was extended for six months.

The United Nations has a 12,000-strong force in Mali 
known as MINUSMA, which began operations in 2013.

It has been targeted constantly by armed fighters, with

dozens of peacekeepers killed, including five on Saturday