anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. on america tonight hostages taken in a french-speaking capital. is it tied to the horror of i.s.i.l. or is another force at work? >> in bottom bamako itself it

has been fairly quiet. this act changes that the strike on the west african nation of mali and who was behind it. tense city in the shadow of the fay nation's most powerful, a community of its most fragile. >> it started from nothing and now you've got about 30 tents out here with people living here and it just up. it is a city within a city the fight to save the place they call home. thanks for joining us. i'm joie chen. in a capital city with innocent travellers the targets of a the latest visual assault. the long reach of i.s.i.l. might be spreading further or was it a new group? details and insight into what happened in the west african nation of mali and how american

forces might be connected. >> reporter: it was an early morning attack on what was thought to be one of the most secure starts of mali, the radisson blu hotel in bamako. the hotel serves as a popular destinations, businessmen, aid workers, airline crews. a group calling itself al-mourabitoun based in northern mali claim responsibility for the attack. mali is still recovering from a 2012 rebellion. in june of 2012 the rebels

seizesd the northern part of the city. defacing the graves of respected saints and clamping down on popular music being deemed un-islamic. there was a rain of fear until 2013. a french and african force broke the hold on the north and brought in the united nations to provide security. mali remains one of the most dangerous assignments on earth for u.n. peacekeepers. 53 dead over the past three years >> the u.n. presence is located in the north of the country. the troops are primarily in the north to deal where the insir gen see was the strongest. in bamako itself there have been

some attacks off and on, a restaurant, it has been fairly quiet compared to the north of the country. this act changes that. >> reporter: there had been a u.n. sponsored effort to reconcile the fractured nation. >> my bet from the outside here would be that what we're seeing today in bamako has much more to do with an attempt by outlier terrorist elements to destabilize mali along the lines of what i.s.i.l. has been carrying out in paris. >> reporter: for those overseas waking up to today's news revived some difficulty memories of the issues in 2012 >> they don't want to hear about music. for them music in those is islam. whatever they listen to music, they want to destroy the

cassette. that means they want to destroy part of life in mali. [ ♪ ] >> reporter: mali has long been renoun for its music. these figures are known. it was precisely the culture that raised the ire of the al-qaeda group. >> sometimes they come to you early hours in the morning at begun point, kill you or whoever want to stands in their way. we need to put other people away. for a long time. >> reporter: as terror returned to bamako today, the people of

mali worried of a return to the turbulence of recent times josh rushing is here with us. there have been reports through the day that u.s. special forces have been involved in raid or in attempt to quell the demonstration. >> that's true. i reached special commanders to get the details of this. it has been over played in the press. there were two individuals that happened to be at meetings at the u.s. embassy that heard of the attack and went to the scene. these are highly special operators for the u.s. military who specialise in direct actions. they were able to be in the control center and help advise. the second one moved the civilians from the lobby to a safe area you're saying two. that does seem like a very small contingent. why would americans be there at all? >> it was the mali forces that

freed the host ages backed by the france forces. the echt s suspend u.s. relations with mali two years ago. it has just started an effort there about a month agoment you have 15 u.s. soldiers part of that and then some of the soldiers who were at the embassy to protect u.s. interests there. so we're talking really about two dozen u.s. members on the ground in all of mali. it's a small footprint even if they're not directly involved in these situations, you said that we're talking about highly trained individuals here. why would they be needed in an environment like this? >> there's a lot of unrest in mali. they were probably there for that. they're trying to get the destabilization force going. it's one of the deadliest places

that you can be as a u. n peace keeper. i asked what the meeting was about. they are normally stationed as part of u.s. operations command. they will go to all the afternoonry can countries. they're helping them with their special operations forces and training what do we do know about the attackers. who is this group? >> the group is called al-mourabitoun. they are a break off from al-qaeda. they're a bit like i.s.i.l. in that sense. they started as an al-qaeda affiliate and they broke away. the leader came out of the jihad movement in afghanistan during the soviet times. they're known for the take over of the algerian refinery in january of 2013 certainly what's on everyone's mind is any possible connection to what happened in

paris >> that seems to be the obvious link, but when you drill down into the details, probably not. there's no affiliation with i.s.i.l. they're actually a competitive group in some regards. two, if they wanted to hit french assets, there is a large military contingent from the french there, it makes sense that they would go there, but the truth is they would have killed the air france crew who were there. they had them hostage. they were some of the first who were released. there's no connection to the french. this has to do with those stability operations with the u.n. if they can create stability here and move it north, that would be a threat to this group thanks so much. next, the rallying cry of the revolution. france's an them and what it really means.

>> we are all supposed to support each other, consider each other like brothers, like family. we're all french later camped out in the nation's capital. in the shadow of the great monuments the lives of ordinary people at risk. hot on america tonight's website, the next big one coming to the u.s. and probably not what you think. find out where on the website

violence has plunged it into the part of paris. it tested the city of like with its darkest hours. in these seven days, everything you would expect, man hunt for accomplices, demand for explanations of what was missed. then there was the voice you might not have anticipated so quickly after the terror of that dark night. the voice of france. [ ♪ ] it was a moment that defined what it means to be french.

a moment shared instantly on social media. even as the first soccer fans fit beyond any reasonable doubt out of the stade de france-- filtered out of stade de france. even as awareness of the attacks first began to spread. the french delivered their response. the words of their national anthem la marseillaise. against tierney. words that echoed across france and the world this week. la marseillaise, the anthem born

more than 200 years ago. its words never more powerful as they are now. to the french, no matter where they are. to understand la marseillaise and what it means to the french, we turn now to an historian-- not to an historian or a music, but a proud man who keeps france close at hand. (singing an them in french) >> reporter: can you interpret it for me? >> well, there is both a call

for people to rally to get together. it means all sons of our nation, let's get together, hold on together to the enemy and that's really what it's about. we are a nation together rallying against any other, you know, turmoil. there's a meaning that is just about the enemy. it's about the turmoil, it's about people that will not share our value of the french republic >> reporter: does something french rise up in you at the moment you hear the song? >> yeah. i sometime i feel emotional. it's just - it makes you think of where you come from, what your whole culture is about >> reporter: he named his restaurant for france's other symbol of rev illegal use

labastille. >> why would you name your restaurant after a jail or prison. i never thought of that. we don't think of this any more. to us bastille represent the revolution, the after, and there's a meaning that it is as for people, which is the renewal, the evolution, revolution, changes >> reporter: france has seen much change since 1792 when la marseillaise was written. when the citizens rose up against the monarchy. the literal translation is rather bloody. >> reporter: the most con trow versal line is-- >> yes. it is really very bloody and has been perceived as being racist. >> reporter: can you explain why? what is the line?

>> the line is that at the time impure blood are on the fields. basically, we bleed or, i guess >> reporter: will shed the blood of our men meself. >> -- enemies. >> it is quite of gory. you have to take it into perspective. it was written in 1792 in a time of war with sword. it was very different time. i guess the reason of those words were really to make if more powerful and bring people out and, yes, let's be strong. >> reporter: la marseillaise is often in controversy. it could be viewed by france's far right wing today as a call to keep migrants out.

but it has also been used to inspire the positive in pop culture. in the move ca; blanca-- casablanca. to a different one here. the beetles rallying cry for love. someone said that this is the world's greatest anthem. >> i'm going to say it's the best anthem, of course, because it is mine and i feel it is strong. i know the american anthem is different, talking about the dream of what this nation means, but that doesn't have this rallying meaning all people, let's hold together. >> reporter: let's hold together even in the hardest times. against tierney and for the nation's motto.

>> a brotherhood, we're all supposed to support each other and consider each other like brothers, like family. >> reporter: we are all french. >> we are all french next, america's most powerful city faces its poor inside a tent city as its residents are threatened with eviction. learning lessons, a campus rocked by allegations of racism. facing a demand that he resign, the college man gives an interview on monday night. coming up at the top of the hour

on al jazeera america, at least 19 people are killed in a terror attack in mali, including an american. a suspect is charged with terrorism in connection with the paris attacks. belgium warns of a threat against brussels. an american convicted of spying on israel is freed. voting is underway to choose a new national flag for the new zealanders. zealanders.

the first blast of cold weather hits this weekend. big parts of the west are bracing for a slam. with the chill comes fear for many of the nation's most vulnerable, the homeless. the count is down slightly 2% from the same point last year. advocates for the homeless say that doesn't give you a full picture of the crisis. to get that you might try hitting the streets of the nation's capital. >> my name is arnold. i'm a truck driver. i noticed people start sleeping on the ground, living behind cans. there was this one family when i i lifted the can up there was a family of four sleeping behind the can. two young kids probably 8 and 10. that's what turned the whole

thing. that changed the whole game. hello. we come here after i get off work. even on my day off i'm almost all here every day. we bring hygiene products, toothpaste, tooth brush, soap. health bars. once they're bagged up, we load them on the trucks and take them out to where they're needed. we came down here and we saw people laying all around with no protection and covering at all. so we brought a couple of tents out here. we said, what can we do? we brought a couple of tents out here. once we gave them the tents, people started noticing them. when they were laying on the ground, people didn't notice them.

you've got a sleeping bag. we supply food, clothing, coats, whatever they need. >> me and my husband were in a bad car accident in january and we were both on life support, but in that process we lost our home and housing just for some reason has not come through yet at all. >> john, let me get that tent, man and you take this one. they call it tent city because of the tents, because it started from nothing and now you've got about 30 tents out here with people living in it, you know, and it just came up and it's a city, a city within the city. >> they keep the wind and rain off of us. they give us a little privacy. also a little protection because nobody is going to come and mess with people in their tents and stuff.

>> how are you doing? >> plus, to keep our stuff, our personal stuff safe too because we keep a lock on it, like a key to the house >> we came and interviewd some people, set up some tents, fed some people. i need your expertise, john. >> did i get you? >> this goes in the ground. >> we met this lady here. she had no covering, man, nothing over here. she was laying on the bare ground on a cardboard box for days. >> i met mr harvey and his crew down here when a lady brought me here that lives here. she said i want to show you how god is helping people. i fell on a rough time when i actually lost my home to fore

closure at some point in my life. i wasn't able to regain or reestablish the type of credit i needed to purchase another home. i got into a situation where i wasn't able to really afford too much. >> today we came out here and brand her a brand new tent. we put it up for her. >> thank you. thank you. >> the tent allows you temporary shelter and allows you safety, allows you to be in a family unit with other people that are like you. it allows you to share a common bond and then you become closer to other people outside the community that come in to help. >> the next step is here. >> we have independence.

you need interdependence where you will bless somebody else. >> i heard people are going to uproot these tents. i think that is a bad idea right now. where are they to go? if you're going to move them, at least have somewhere for them to go because you're chasing them away, into alleyways. >> what's wrong with this, with our government, when we see people out here? why can't we have them off the street. >> if the city were to come and move me out of here and everyone, i don't know what i would do. prayer is the only thing that i can possibly hope to do at that point a last word from authorities here in the nation's capital. with the cold weather they say to america tonight it is not safe for the tent city residents to stay outdoors.

so far they say 14 people have been moved inside and they're going to keep up the effort to clear the rest of the camp of its residents too. tell us what you think. talk to us on twitter and facebook and come back. we will have more of america tonight tomorrow. else can. this is our american story. this is america tonight. al jazeera america gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on

facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. a terror attack on a moelgt in mali's capital city kills 19 people, including an american. >> they killed everyone. anything that was moving one week later. crowds on paris streets pay their respects to the people killed in the attacks as investigators make new discoveries about those responsible for the violence. spy release. jonathon