Two different Islamist jihadi groups have said they were behind massacre at a hotel in Mali.
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta said 19 people were killed and a further seven injured after militants seized 170 hostages at the Radisson Blu in Bamako.
Two Islamist militants were also killed.
President Obama has said the attacks on a Mali hotel only stiffened the resolve of the United States and its allies, which would be relentless in fighting those targeting its citizens.
In a speech at a regional summit in Malaysia, Obama said US forces had helped prevent a greater loss of life and described the raid as "another awful reminder of the scourge of terrorism."
At least one American has been identified among the 19 dead. He said U.S. forces in Mali helped prevent a greater loss of life.
A hotel in Mali's capital was targeted by gunmen in an attack which killed 27 and saw 170 people held hostage for several hours.
Bamako is two and half thousand miles from Paris; but in another capital, the same nightmare has unfolded.