Islamist extremists are suspected of opening fire on diners at a Turkish eaterie popular with foreigners in the capital Ouagadougou
Suspected Islamist extremists have killed at least 17 people after opening fire on a restaurant popular with foreigners in the Burkina Faso capital of Ouagadougou.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the violence on Sunday, which continued into Monday morning with security forces still exchanging heavy fire with attackers who were believed to be holding hostages.
Remi Dandjinou, the country’s communications minister, told journalists it was a “terror attack” and that at least 17 people were dead and eight others wounded, according to a provisional toll.
Security forces killed at least two attackers, he said, but people remained inside the building which housed the upmarket Turkish restaurant, Aziz Istanbul. One soldier said there were hostages on the first and second floor of the two-storey building.
The victims came from several different nationalities, Dandjinou said, but at least one of the dead was a French national.
A paramedic told Agence France-Presse that one of the victims was Turkish. “We evacuated 11 people but one of them, a Turk, died on arriving at hospital,” the paramedic said, declining to be named.
Police captain Guy Ye said three or four assailants had arrived at the restaurant on motorcycles and then began shooting randomly at diners.
Police evacuated civilians from the area before launching the counter-assault.
The French embassy in Ouagadougou said it was in contact with the local authorities and advised French people to avoid the area around the restaurant, Reuters reported.
A woman said she was in the restaurant celebrating her brother’s birthday when the shooting started. “I just ran but my brother was left inside,” the woman told Reuters.
Security forces arrived at the scene with armoured vehicles after reports of shots fired near the restaurant in Ouagadougou. The attack brought back painful memories of the January 2016 attack at another cafe that left 30 people dead.
Burkina Faso, a landlocked nation in west Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. It shares a northern border with Mali, which has long battled Islamic extremists.
The three attackers in the 2016 massacre were of foreign origin, according to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which claimed responsibility in the aftermath along with the jihadist group known as Al Mourabitoun. But the terror threat in Burkina Faso is increasingly homegrown, experts say.
The northern border region is now the home of a local preacher, Ibrahim Malam Dicko, who radicalised his followers and has claimed recent deadly attacks against troops and civilians. His association, Ansarul Islam, is now considered a terrorist group by Burkina Faso’s government.
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Suspected Islamist extremists have killed at least 17 people after opening fire on a restaurant popular with foreigners in the Burkina Faso capital of Ouagadougou.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the violence on Sunday, which continued into Monday morning with security forces still exchanging heavy fire with attackers who were believed to be holding hostages.
Remi Dandjinou, the country’s communications minister, told journalists it was a “terror attack” and that at least 17 people were dead and eight others wounded, according to a provisional toll.
Security forces killed at least two attackers, he said, but people remained inside the building which housed the upmarket Turkish restaurant, Aziz Istanbul. One soldier said there were hostages on the first and second floor of the two-storey building.
The victims came from several different nationalities, Dandjinou said, but at least one of the dead was a French national.
A paramedic told Agence France-Presse that one of the victims was Turkish. “We evacuated 11 people but one of them, a Turk, died on arriving at hospital,” the paramedic said, declining to be named.
Police captain Guy Ye said three or four assailants had arrived at the restaurant on motorcycles and then began shooting randomly at diners.
Police evacuated civilians from the area before launching the counter-assault.
The French embassy in Ouagadougou said it was in contact with the local authorities and advised French people to avoid the area around the restaurant, Reuters reported.
A woman said she was in the restaurant celebrating her brother’s birthday when the shooting started. “I just ran but my brother was left inside,” the woman told Reuters.
Security forces arrived at the scene with armoured vehicles after reports of shots fired near the restaurant in Ouagadougou. The attack brought back painful memories of the January 2016 attack at another cafe that left 30 people dead.
Burkina Faso, a landlocked nation in west Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. It shares a northern border with Mali, which has long battled Islamic extremists.
The three attackers in the 2016 massacre were of foreign origin, according to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which claimed responsibility in the aftermath along with the jihadist group known as Al Mourabitoun. But the terror threat in Burkina Faso is increasingly homegrown, experts say.
The northern border region is now the home of a local preacher, Ibrahim Malam Dicko, who radicalised his followers and has claimed recent deadly attacks against troops and civilians. His association, Ansarul Islam, is now considered a terrorist group by Burkina Faso’s government.
Friends, if you like this post kindly comment below and do share your responds Thanks for reading
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