On the night of January 15th, four armed individuals took 176 hostages at the Splendid Hotel in the heart of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The situation led to 30 deaths and 56 injured.
Around 7:30 pm, two men and two women stormed the hotel, a popular place amongst Westerners in Burkina Faso. Upon their arrival, a gunfire exchange between the attackers and the hotel security exploded, alerting the guests of the hotel. However, the ensuing commotion allowed the four individuals to take control of the building, which escalated into a hostage situation.
One of the witnesses, Yannick Sawadogo describes the scene, “Everyone was panicked and was lying down on the floor. There was blood everywhere, they were shooting at people point-blank” (CNN).
Another female survivor states, “We had to play dead. They shook people by the foot to see if they were alive or not and if they were alive, they shot them” (Telegraph).
Five hours after the siege, local authorities managed to enter the building through the use of explosives. After an intense gunfire exchange resulting in the deaths of three of the four attackers (the two women and one of the men), the army rescued the hostages, with the help of French soldiers based in the capital. The authorities were then able to confirm the number of casualties. The victims included both locals and foreigners, including eighteen Canadians as well as French citizens.
The fourth gunman was killed at the Yibi Hotel siege the next morning.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed the responsibility for the attacks. The assailants were part of the African Jihadist group, Al Mourabitoun, whose motives were to eliminate the enemies of their faith, as mentioned in an open letter.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement, condemning this tragic event. “On behalf of all Canadians, we offer our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of all those killed and a speedy recovery to all those injured,” he said. “We are deeply saddened by these senseless acts of violence on innocent civilians” (CBC).
This is one in a series of similar incidents around the world, where religious radicals perpetuate atrocities against innocent people.
Sources:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/burkina-faso-hotel-attack-1.3407326
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/16/africa/burkina-faso-hotel-terrorist-attack/
Images Obtained Fron:
http://www.stripes.com/news/africa/burkina-faso-capital-security-tighten…
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/16/africa/burkina-faso-hotel-terrorist-attack/