20 reported killed in Burkina Faso hotel attack

Gunfire and explosions have erupted in Burkina Faso’s capital as security forces battled militant fighters who were holding hostages at one of Ouagadougou’s most prominent hotels. There were reports that 20 people had been killed.

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the ongoing attack. It follows a deadly raid on a hotel in Mali last November, as well as attacks by militants in other countries in west Africa.

The gunmen stormed the five-storey Splendid hotel in Ouagadougou’s business district, burning cars outside and firing in the air to drive back crowds before security forces arrived, prompting an intense exchange of gunfire.

Robert Sangare, director of Ouagadougou’s university hospital centre, said: “We have received around 15 wounded people. There are people with bullet wounds and people who are injured because of falls.” He said that the injured patients had told him they had seen around 20 bodies in the hotel.

One witness told Associated Press that he saw four men attack the hotel and neighbouring Cappuccino Cafe at about 7.30pm local time. Another witness said that when security forces arrived, they turned around rather than confront the attackers.

“But we know that the gunmen won’t get out of the hotel alive,” he said. “Our country is not for jihadis or terrorists. They got it wrong.”

France’s ambassador to the country said a curfew had been put in place in Ouagadougou from 2300 GMT to 0600. Gilles Thibault said on his Twitter account that the attack in its former colony was ongoing and that the embassy had set up a crisis unit for its citizens. More than 3,500 French nationals live in the country, according to foreign ministry data.Describing the assault on the Splendid hotel as a “terrorist attack”, the embassy earlier told French nationals to say at home and avoid the area.

The hotel is sometimes used by French troops with Operation Barkhane, a force based in Chad and set up to combat Islamic militants across Africa’s vast, arid Sahel region. 

Asking not to be named, a senior official with the national gendarmes said: “It is continuing at this time. We are trying to know how many attackers they are to better coordinate our actions. Hostages have been taken. The operation could take several hours.”

A senior member of AQIM had in December called for Muslims in several countries, including Burkina Faso, to wage jihad. AQIM, along with two other groups, claimed responsibility for killing 20 people and taking hostages in the capital of neighbouring Mali in November.

The US embassy in Ouagadougou tweeted: “We are closely following the situation downtown.”