French PM Valls Says 3 Sought In Connection With Burkina Attacks

The French Ambassador to Burkina Faso Gilles Thibault has detailed how security forces ended a 15 hour attack over the weekend.

She was in Burkina Faso for a photography assignment on women’s rights, the organization said.

French special forces take position in the surroundings of the Splendid hotel following an attack by Al-Qaeda linked gunmen on January 16, 2016 in Ouagadougou.

“No one was prepared for these attacks”, he said.

He and Foreign Affairs Minister Alpha Barry also met with diplomats, reassuring them that Burkina Faso will remain a safe place despite the attack by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

In the statement, AQIM identified the three attackers as Al Battar Al Ansari, Abu Muhammad Al Buqali Al Ansari and Ahmed Al Fulani Al Ansari, according to Reuters.

Burkina Faso’s new government, named just days ago following a year-long transition period punctuated by unrest, has declared three days of national mourning. “It is the Burkinabes, aided by a French detachment, that carried out the job”, he explained.

On Tuesday, the Burkinabe Minister of Territorial Administration and Internal Security, Simon Compaore is expected to meet with relatives of the victims of the terrorist attack.

Neighboring countries including Mali have vowed to help Burkina Faso after the attacks.

The streets of Ouagadougou were unusually quiet on Monday in a country unaccustomed to the frequent jihadist attacks that have plagued its Western neighbour Mali.

Authorities in Ouagadougou said the bodies of three assailants had been identified, but several witnesses have said they saw more than three attackers.

“That’s why Canada remains committed to the coalition against terrorists and to working with other countries on a humanitarian basis and in order to help refugees but also to show military commitment”, he said.

A Franco-Moroccan photographer, Leila Alaoui – who had appeared to be in a stable condition – has now died of injuries sustained in the attack.

He spoke as details emerged about a delayed, ill-equipped response from Burkina Faso’s security forces, which have been weakened by recent political turmoil.

In a reminder of the fragile security situation, an elderly Australian couple were kidnapped on Friday in Burkina Faso’s northern Baraboule region, near the border with Niger and Mali.