BAR SHOOTING

A shooting at a bar popular with
expatriates in Mali left five people dead Saturday,
including French and Belgian citizens, authorities
said.
One French citizen, one Belgian and three Malians
were killed in the attack in the capital of Bamako,
said Gabriel Toure, director of a local hospital.
An additional eight people were injured, he said.
French President Francoise Hollande released a
statement condemning the attack. He said there is
a possibility but no confirmation of a French
victim.
The French Embassy in Bamako warned its
citizens to be on alert if they go out in public.
Though it's unclear whether any rebel group is
responsible for the attack, Malian forces have
battled Islamist militants in the northern part of
the nation for years.
Mali plunged into chaos after soldiers staged a
coup three years ago. As a result, Tuareg fighters
capitalized on the power vacuum to launch an
insurgency that ended with their takeover of the
north.
After the Tuareg fighters seized the region, a
power struggle erupted with local Islamist
radicals. The extremists toppled the tribe and
seized control of a large piece of northern Mali, an
area the size of France.
Since then, the nation has battled various rebel
factions, mostly in the northern region, with the
help of French and African force.
source:CNN