Burkina Faso attack: ‘Three suspects at large’

Six Quebecers on a humanitarian mission were killed in Burkina Faso’s capital of Ouagadougou last week during an attack carried out by al-Qaida.

Alaoui, who lived and worked in Beirut and Marrakesh, was on assignment there for Amnesty International to shoot pictures on women’s rights when she and her driver were hit by bullets in the attack claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), as they sat in their vehicle opposite the four-star Splendid Hotel targeted by the gunmen.

More than 126 people were held hostage in the hotel before Burkina Faso and French security forces launched a counter-attack leading to the deaths of three of the gunmen.

The victims include seven Burkinabes four Canadians three Ukrainians two Swiss nationals one American one Dutch one Libyan and one Portuguese Campaore revealed. Other bodies were being identified.

“We need to share information and military means”, he said.

Burkina Faso’s soldier stands near Hotel Splendid.

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.

The latest death toll from the Ouagadougou terrorist attack, particularly at Splendid Hotel and the Cappuccino Café Restaurant, has risen with the death of one of the injured, medical sources told APA on Tuesday morning.

Benin’s President Thomas Boni Yayi visited Ouagadougou Monday to show support and the backing of the Economic Community of West African States.

Natacha Ble, a 23-year-old waitress from Ivory Coast who had only been working for a few weeks at the restaurant Taxi Brousse across the street, said she saw the three men coming but never imagined they were jihadis, saying they looked more like traditional herders from the Peul ethnic group in their tunics than Islamic militants.

Reuters reports that AQIM named the three attackers as al-Battar al-Ansari, Abu Muhammad al-Buqali al-Ansari and Ahmed al-Fulani al-Ansari, according to SITE Intelligence group. “We will react and respond”, he said, speaking on behalf of the 15 regional nations.

“This fact is especially notable given the increasing attempts by IS to lure Al Qaeda’s African franchises to switch allegiance and join the group”, Bogorad wrote.

Mr Compaore also said security had been increased in areas of the country where foreigners often gathered.