EUTM Mali HQ attacked in Bamako. A new target in the Sahel: Europe (Maj)

(B2) The headquarters of the Malian army training mission (EUTM Mali) was attacked in Bamako this Monday (March 21) at the end of the afternoon (18:30 p.m. local time). Several attackers burst in front of the Nord Sud hotel which houses the HQ firing with light automatic weapons type AK 47 and hand grenades.

On the side of the European mission, we want to be reassuring. " No one was injured and no damage was caused ". Mission security forces have “ secured » the area, with the help of the Malian Armed Forces and the UN Mission in the country (MINUSMA). These " are patrolling around the HQ currently clarified the mission on its facebook account at the end of the evening.

A young assailant killed

One of the attackers was "neutralized". It was " very young, in civilian clothes, carrying a bag a witness told B2. This backpack immediately caught the attention of the mission's anti-EOD (improvised explosives) specialists. We had to make sure that there were no explosives ". Two other attackers were arrested. They have already been questioned, assures the Malian Minister of Security, Salif Traoré, according to AFP. 

A good Czech-Malian reaction

« Protective measures for EUTM members, and security measures worked properly, allowing aggression to be controlled effectively announces the mission on its web page. The Czechs who ensure the 'protection force' reacted very quickly and very well ” one specifies at the HQ of EUTM, just like the Malian unit of the National Guard which participates “ constantly on the lookout right of way where the Azalai Nord-Sud hotel is located. All in " very good co-ordination” with the Malian security and defense forces who " cordoned off the area quickly ».

The protection provided by the Czechs 

It is a Czech unit, made up of about thirty people, which is, in fact, in charge of the protection of the HQ in Bamako, this almost since the beginning of the mission. The Czech captain Jiri Stanek had just taken the head of this Task force, operational since March 11, 2016, for a period of 6 months, according to our information. This is the seventh rotation since the launch of the mission. NB: In addition to the protection of the HQ, the Czech military escort EUTM members in all their movements.

AQIM very active in this part of Africa

If the identity and motivations of the attackers remained unknown this Tuesday, March 22. The track of AQIM or Ansar Dine is preferred. But no claims have yet been made (1). The attack in Côte d'Ivoire a week ago like four months ago against the Radisson Blue were claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqmi) and the group of the Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar.

The Malian scientific police descended on the scene of the incident with the help of the gendarmes and police officers of the EUCAP Sahel Mali civilian mission.

A deliberate attack on the European mission

It is therefore not the first attack that has occurred in Mali or in the surrounding countries targeting Europeans. But, until now, Europeans or expatriates had been victims of attacks either in an international hotel or a restaurant frequented by expatriates, or in a place of relaxation (beach, museum, etc.). This time it was the European mission that was deliberately targeted. This is not a very good sign and should encourage the strengthening of security measures of several European missions deployed in certain parts of Africa (notably in Niger, Somalia or Tunisia).

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde with Leonor Hubaut)

(1) Maj. Two months after the attack, no claims have been made. And no one has been charged. All those arrested were later released due to lack of evidence.

Read also:

• Attack in Grand Bassam in Ivory Coast
• European experts lent a hand after the Blu Radisson attack in Bamako
• Attack in Bamako, several European victims
• Many Europeans killed in the attack in Sousse in Tunisia (Maj4)
• Burkina Faso in turn hit by terrorism. Several European casualties (Maj2)
• *In Memoriam. Diplomats and soldiers who died on EC / EU missions

(updated 22.3 17 p.m. + 23 p.m. with first elements of analysis and details on the conditions of the attack)