Dutch volunteer among the dead in Burkina Faso hotel attack

Terror group al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for attack saying it was “revenge against France and the disbelieving West”.

Three attackers were killed at the hotel and a fourth was killed when security forces cleared out a second hotel nearby.

Security forces stormed the building on Saturday morning, more than five hours after the siege began.

“Faced with these terrorists and their vile acts, we must mobilize to ensure the appropriate response to put them out of action”, Kabore said. The dead, which included victims from 18 different countries, included the wife and young daughter of the Italian cafe owner, two French citizens, two Swiss citizens, and six Canadians. Paris pledged to send forensic experts to help investigate the attack, and a French court opened an investigation for murder and attempted murder.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau six Canadian citizens were among those killed.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry “strongly and vehemently” condemned the attack. “They were firing at people at close range”, Yannick Sawadogo, one of those who escaped, told AFP. It was echoing and extremely loud.

They are held in the highest regard by the local community in Burkina Faso and it is tragic that at the end of [Dr Elliott’s] career this should happen to him.

The couple is respected by the community where they work and have dedicated their lives to caring for disadvantaged, the Elliots’ family says.

Al-Qaeda militants attacked the Splendid Hotel and a the Cappuccino cafe nearby.

“The perpetrators of the horrific attack in Ouagadougou on Friday night which deliberately killed and injured dozens of people from many nationalities and religions, show an utter disregard for fundamental principles of humanity”, Alioune Tine, Amnesty International West Africa director, said.

With a population of more than 17 million people, it is ranked as one of the world’s least developed countries by the United Nations.

“I heard the gunfire and I saw a light by my window and I thought it was fireworks at first”, said Rachid Faouzi Ouedraogo, a 22-year-old accounting student who lives near the scene of the attack.

The West Australian couple, in their 80s, moved to Burkina Faso in 1972 to set up the clinic in the town of Djibo in the country’s north. It was not clear if there was a link to the hotel attack.

A video, purportedly of the Hotel Splendide on fire. appears to show the flaming cars in the streets.

The kidnapping came as Islamist militants launched an attack on a hotel and restaurant in the capital Ouagadougou, killing at least 29 people.

Communication minister Remis Dandjinou told AFP the assault was carried out by Burkinabe troops with the support of French special forces.

Some analysts point to the security vacuum that has emerged in Burkina Faso since late 2014, when the longtime strongman leader fled power in a popular uprising.