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 Francois 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 forces.