Gunmen stormed the Splendid Hotel in the capital city of Ouagadougou on Friday, burning cars and firing into the air. The head of the area hospital reports that at least 20 are dead. At least 14 people have been wounded, with three in serious condition."
"At the restaurant that was attacked, six people were killed and multiple others were wounded," Honorary Consul of Russia in Burkina Faso Anna Rachina told RIA Novosti. "There are foreigners [among the dead], possibly Europeans and locals."
"The curfew has been extended from 23 h [23:00 GMT on Friday] to 6 h am [06:00 GMT on Saturday]," French Ambassador to Burkina Faso Gilles Thibault tweeted.
Three individuals are reportedly behind the attack.Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has reportedly claimed credit for the attack.
— Visactu (@visactu) January 15, 2016
"It is continuing at this time. We are trying to know how many attackers they are to better coordinate our actions," a security officer said. "Hostages have been taken. The operation could take several hours."
The French Embassy in Burkino Faso has classified the incident as a "terrorist attack."
"Serious incidents happened this evening at around 20:30 in the perimeter of Kwame N'krumah Avenue, Cafe Cappuccino, Hotel Splendid," the embassy said in a statement. "In view of the circumstances, the Embassy of France recommends that you go to your home, avoiding the aforementioned perimeter."
— Sumudu Dhanapala (@Maximuslk) January 15, 2016
— Sumudu Dhanapala (@Maximuslk) January 15, 2016
The Cappuccino cafe-restaurant across the street from the hotel has also reportedly been targeted. The Splendid is an upscale hotel popular with Westerners. The hotel is also sometimes used by French troops with Operation Barkhane, an anti-terror unit based in Chad.
— Sumudu Dhanapala (@Maximuslk) January 15, 2016
Islamist militants have conducted similar attacks in neighboring Mali. Last November, militants left 20 people dead after storming the Radisson Blu hotel. Burkina Faso has also undergone turmoil since 2014, when its longtime president Blaise Compaore was overthrown.
