Al-Qaida fighters raided a popular resort in Burkina Faso’s capital of Ouagadougou, killing about 28 people, before they set a cafe ablaze yesterday.
After a 12-hour siege on the cafe and nearby hotel, at least 28 people at press time, were reported dead.
The victims of the pogrom were said to be having drinks outside and in a popular hotel, before the tragedy struck, as their assailants screamed Allahu akhbar (Arabic for God is great) as gunned them down.
An audio tape later released by the al-Qaida group claiming responsibility for the carnage was entitled: “A Message Signed with Blood and Body Parts.”
AP reports that “Among the victims from 18 different countries were the wife and 5-year-old daughter of the Italian man who owns the Cappuccino Cafe, where at least 10 people died in a hail of gunfire and smoke after the attackers set the building ablaze before moving on to the Splendid Hotel nearby. Some survivors cowered for hours on the roof or hid in the restaurant’s bathroom to stay alive. Two French and two Swiss citizens were confirmed among the dead late Saturday by the two countries’ foreign ministries”.
Authorities, according to AP, said the four known attackers — all killed by security forces — had come in a vehicle with plates from neighboring Niger. At least two of them were women and one was of African descent. Witnesses said they wore the turbans often worn in the sand-swept countryside of the Sahel, and some spoke in French with an Arabic accent, suggesting some may have come from further north in Africa.
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday assured President Roch Marc Kabore and the people of Burkina Faso of Nigeria’s solidarity and support as they grapple with the aftermath of Friday night’s terrorist attack on Ouagadougou.
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