New Delhi says 20 Indians held hostage in Mali hotel siege

Seven Chinese tourists are also among hostages at Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako

BEIJING/ NEW DELHI: Twenty Indian nationals are among the hostages being held at the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital Bamako, an Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

"Our ambassador has confirmed that 20 Indians are held hostage at the hotel but they are alive," Vikas Swarup told AFP.



Gunmen went on a shooting rampage at the hotel on Friday, seizing 170 guests and staff in an ongoing hostage-taking that has left at least three people dead.

The foreign ministry spokesperson said on Twitter that the Indian ambassador to Mali was "continuously in touch" with the hostages and monitoring the situation.

The gunmen are believed to be extremists who entered the hotel compound at around 0700 GMT in a car bearing diplomatic plates, according to security sources.

Seven Chinese hostages in Mali siege

At least seven Chinese tourists are among the hostages at the Radisson Blu hotel, China's official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.



Xinhua said it was in communication with a Chinese hostage, a tourist identified only by his surname Chen, at the hotel.

Contacted by AFP, an official at the Chinese embassy in the city, surnamed Wang, put the number of Chinese hostages at eight, adding: "We are still trying to verify the exact number."

The siege comes only two days after the Islamic State group published graphic pictures of a murdered Chinese hostage, Fan Jinghui.

In the wake of Fan's death, Beijing said that "we must bring these criminals to justice", although it was unclear what actions the government would take. President Xi Jinping was quoted by state media as saying: "Terrorism is the public enemy of human beings."



China has a growing worldwide role as the world's second-largest economy and the Global Times newspaper, which is close to the ruling Communist Party, said in an editorial Friday: "Protecting the safety of Chinese nationals overseas has become a new challenge for the country".