“These truly barbaric criminal acts carried out against innocent people, claimed by the criminal organization al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) seek to destabilize our country and its republican institutions, and to undermine efforts to build a democratic, quiet and prosperous nation”, said Kabore.
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Three people involved in last week’s Islamist attack in Burkina Faso are still at large, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said.
She was severely wounded when jihadist gunmen stormed the Splendid hotel and the nearby Cappuccino cafe she was visiting on Friday evening.
On Tuesday, authorities in Burkina Faso acknowledged that security forces first tried to enter the hotel more than four hours after the attack began, only after French forces arrived from Mali.
Alaoui’s death raises the death toll to 30, of 18 separate nationalities.
Earlier on Tuesday, French President Francois Holland paid homage to French photographer Leila Alaoui, who was in Burkina Faso for a report on women’s rights for Amnesty International.
Numerous victims of the assault were foreigners.
In the statement, AQIM identified the three attackers as Al Battar Al Ansari, Abu Muhammad Al Buqali Al Ansari and Ahmed Al Fulani Al Ansari, according to Reuters.
Leila Alaoui, the 33-year-old French-Moroccan photographer, died last night as a result of injuries sustained during Friday’s al-Qaeda terrorist attack in Burkina Faso, along with her driver, Mahamadi Ouédraogo, a father of four.
Alaoui’s mother told the French publicationle360 that her daughter was among those evacuated by the Burkinabe security forces.
Burkina Faso army spokesman Guy Herve Ye said the army is searching for other suspects and perhaps that is what the prime minister is referring to.
“We want to reassure the people that live on our soil that foreigners can continue to come to our country, and to invest in our country, because we are ahead on this and we continue to march forward”, Compaore said.
Officials Saturday said forces killed three attackers in the Splendid Hotel and another in a neighboring hotel. The group is based in the Sahara Desert between Mali, Niger and Algeria. The attackers then assauled the Splendid Hotel next door.
The exact details of the cooperation between Burkina Faso and Mali were not immediately clear, but the patrols and intelligence sharing mark an intent by the two countries to prevent the spread of militancy as AQIM and others expand operations in the region beyond their usual reach.
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The French parliament has observed a minute’s silence in their memory.
