Security forces in Burkina Faso ended a siege at hotel and a restaurant that were stormed by al-Qaeda linked gunmen, killing three militants and freeing 126 people, but another assault was ongoing at second hotel nearby.
A security source said at least 22 people were killed in the assaults on the Burkinabe capital’s four-star Splendid Hotel and the nearby Capuccino restaurant, which are popular with UN staff and foreigners.
Thirty-three of the 126 people freed from the Splendid by Burkinabe troops backed by French special forces were wounded.
Photo: AFP
“The attacks on the Splendid Hotel and the Cappuccino are over, but an assault is ongoing at the Hotel Ybi” next to the Cappuccino, Burkinabe Minister of the Interior Simon Compaore said.
A total of “126 people, including at least 33 wounded, have been freed. Three jihadists — an Arab and two black Africans — have been killed,” he added.
A security source said 22 people have been confirmed dead, but the toll could rise further as Compaore earlier said that firefighters had seen 10 bodies on the terrace of the restaurant.
“We don’t yet have a total tally of the dead. The Burkinabe forces are still combing the hotel,” he said.
Burkinabe Minister of Culture, Tourism & Communication Remis Dandjinou said the assault was carried out by Burkinabe troops with the support of French special forces.
He also said that among those who escaped unharmed was Burkinabe Minister of Employment & Youth Clement Sawadogo.
A fire raged early yesterday at the main entrance of the 147-room h Splendid and screams could be heard from inside, while on the street outside about 10 vehicles were set alight.
“It was horrible, people were sleeping and there was blood everywhere. They were firing at people at close range,” said Yannick Sawadogo, one of those who escaped. “We heard them speaking and they were walking around people and firing at people who were not dead. And when they came out they started a fire.”
The attack comes less than two months after a militant hostage siege at the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in the Malian capital, Bamako, left 20 people dead, including 14 foreigners — an attack claimed by the same al-Qaeda affiliate behind the unfolding Ouagadougou assault.
The head of the city’s main hospital confirmed prior to the start of the counter-assault at least 20 people had been killed.
He quoted one of the wounded as saying there were “more white people than black” among the dead.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the Splendid attack, saying it was “revenge against France and the disbelieving West,” according to a statement carried by US-based monitoring group SITE.
The attackers were members of the Al-Murabitoun group based in Mali and run by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, SITE said.
The Hotel Splendid is popular with Westerners and French soldiers based in Burkina Faso.
A reporter at one point saw three men clad in turbans firing at the scene on Avenue Kwame Nkrumah, one of Ouagadougou’s main thoroughfares.
A witness also reported seeing four assailants who were of Arab or white appearance and “wearing turbans.”
Burkina Faso’s new government, which was appointed on Wednesday following the election of President Roch Marc Kabore in November last year, was due to hold an emergency Cabinet meeting at 9am.
In related news, the Burkinabe army said a heavily armed group of about 20 people had also carried out an attack on Friday near the border with Mali, killing two people — a police officer and a civilian — and leaving two others wounded.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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