At least 20 people were killed and scores of others taken hostage when Islamist gunmen stormed a hotel in the capital city of Burkina Faso on Friday, a hospital director said, an attack for which al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility, Reuters reported Jan 16, 2016.
Security forces began an assault to reclaim the Splendid Hotel in the early hours of Saturday and entered its lobby, part of which was on fire, a Reuters witness said. The hotel is frequented by Westerners, which may have made it a target for the militants.
About 30 hostages including the labor minister were freed from the hotel, said Minister of Communications Remis Dandjinou. No one has said publicly how many hostages might be in the hotel.
It was the first time militants have carried out an assault in the capital of Burkina Faso and comes as a setback to efforts by African governments, France and the United States to prevent attacks that have destabilized the region.
Robert Sangare, director of Ouagadougou’s university hospital center, said that among an initial batch of 15 people brought to hospital some had bullet wounds while others had injuries from falls.
Patients saw around 20 bodies, and one European woman being treated at the hospital said the attackers appeared to target Westerners, said Sangare, who had spoken to the patients.
The hotel is sometimes used by French troops with Operation Barkhane, a force based in Chad and set up to combat Islamist militants across West Africa’s vast, arid Sahel region.