A masked gunman opened fire on a restaurant
in Bamako, the capital of Mali very early this
morning, killing five people. Two Europeans -
a Frenchman and a Belgian - and three
Malians.
The gunman stormed La Terrasse restaurant,
which was filled with UN workers, Europeans
and Malians and fired indiscriminately, killing
five. Two people have been arrested in
connection with the attack.
"This was a terrorist attack. It’s
absolutely clear,” said the security
official, an army officer who requested
anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak publicly. The attack
took place in Hippodrome, a
neighborhood of the capital that contains
a number of bars and restaurants
frequented by foreigners.
From one moment to the next, a festive
Friday night at La Terrasse, crowded with
United Nations workers and other
Europeans, turned into a pandemonium
of bullets, blood, and fear, witnesses
said. A lone gunman burst into the
restaurant, witnesses said, and began
firing at tables where Europeans were
seated, at point-blank range.
“We were laughing, talking. Suddenly
these people came inside,” said a
Swedish health worker, Reidun Runften,
who had been dancing at the bar. “It was
boom, boom, boom,” she said. “I was
very close to the bar, and we just went
under there. We didn’t move because
they were shooting a lot,” she said.
When she looked up, a young Malian
woman — the girlfriend of a European
sitting next to her — was lying on the
floor, blood coming from her neck, said
Ms. Runften.
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