Ukrainian woman, daughter among dead in Burkina Faso attack

“We will very soon be able to provide the full picture but we call on the public to be vigilant and courageous because now we need to fight and integrate against terrorism as our daily struggle to develop the country”, said Burkina Faso President, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

Burkina Faso declared three days of national mourning following the attack, which mirrored another Al-Qaeda attack on a luxury hotel in neighbouring Mali where 20 people were killed, mostly foreigners.

He also announced security forces would be stepping up their efforts to thwart future attacks and asked people to comply with new restrictions.

The hours-long drama saw Burkinabe troops, backed by French special forces, battle militants – including two women fighters – who stormed the four-star Splendid Hotel, which is popular with foreigners and United Nations staff, and took more than a hundred people hostage. When the gunfire and explosions finally stopped, authorities said 18 were killed in the hotel and 10 killed at a nearby cafe.

A restaurant opposite the hotel was also attacked and a staff member, reached by telephone, said several people had been killed, but was not able to give an exact toll.

At least six Canadians, two French citizens, two Swiss nationals, one Netherlander and one American were killed in the attack, according to their respective foreign ministries. He is survived by his four children, two of whom were adopted from Burkina Faso.

Riddering was “a wonderful, godly man” who managed to find spare time to help teams of volunteers from other organizations who dug wells for local residents, said John Anderson, a board member of Sheltering Wings, Riddering’s charity. Inside, Burkinabe and French security officials were conducting an investigation.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the attack saying it was “revenge against France and the disbelieving West”, according to US-based monitoring group SITE.

Dozens of French forces arrived overnight from neighboring Mali to aid in the rescue.

Thieba and his Malian counterpart Modibo Keita visited the outside of the Splendid Hotel on Sunday, where bullet holes and a charred exterior offered reminders of Friday evening’s attack.

Until recently Burkina Faso had largely escaped the tide of Islamist violence spreading in the restive Sahel region and the hotel assault will heighten fears that jihadist groups are casting their net wider in search of targets in west Africa. The couple, reported to be in their 80s, were kidnapped in the northern town of Djibo where they had run a medical center for 40 years.