Chinese troops did not 'fail' hostages in Mali hotel siege, military experts say
Accusations that peacekeepers 'failed' to rescue those caught up in Mali siege are nonsense, military experts say, as soldiers are under UN orders
Accusations that Chinese peacekeepers "failed" to rescue hostages in Friday's deadly hotel siege in Mali were nonsense as the only armed personnel were more than 1,000km away on the other side of the west African nation, military experts said.
As part of the United Nations peacekeeping force in the country, they could only act with authorisation from the UN command after the Mali government sought assistance, they said.
On Friday morning, an unknown number of suspected Islamist gunmen entered the lobby of the upscale Radisson Blu hotel, where a number of government departments and diplomats were based, and took 170 guests and staff hostage.
Nine hours into the siege, French, US and Malian troops stormed the hotel, killing three gunmen. Yesterday, the death toll stood at 21 hostages, including three Chinese executives.
Doubts over China's inaction arose after it was reported that French and United States commandos joined Malian troops in the rescue, but none from the nearly 400-member Chinese contingent did so, 170 of whom were armed.
Several hours after the gunmen stormed the hotel, where several government ministries and diplomats are based, American, French and Malian troops secured most of the hostages.
"Many people may not understand the international rules in responding to such emergencies. It's up to the Mali government to say how to tackle the situation," said Shanghai-based military expert Ni Lexiong .