French and Burkinabe armed forces were forced to storm the hotel and restaurant after the gunmen took 126 people as hostages – they were later freed.
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In the wake of the terror attacks in Burkina Faso that left 29 people dead and dozens more wounded, the mother of one of the six Canadian victims is denouncing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to withdraw Canadian jets from the fight against the Islamic State.
On Tuesday, authorities in Burkina Faso also released new details on how they ultimately killed the three men who were part of the North Africa branch of al-Qaida, working in connection with Algerian jihadi Moktar Belmoktar and his forces.
The toll from the weekend attack rose to 30 late Monday with the death of French-Moroccan photographer Leila Alaoui, Morocco’s MAP news agency reported.
“They were looking forward to continuing to work in Burkina Faso and raising their children together”, a statement from Sheltering Wings said.
He said of the killed assailants two were light skinned and one was dark skinned. As a result of him playing the role of the mediator, he was able to keep them from attacking Burkina Faso. He told Ann that they were surrounded by gunfire, but the line went dead before he could say anything else.
Until Friday’s attack, the landlocked nation, an ally of Western governments against jihadist groups in the arid reaches of the southern Sahara, had largely been spared the violence that has plagued its neighbours.
In France, where she was born, President Francois Hollande paid his respects while parliament observed a minute of silence for those shot Friday by six gunmen who targeted a hotel and cafe popular with foreigners in the heart of Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou.
The two were parked outside the Cappucino cafe, opposite the Hotel Splendid, when the attack occurred.
The premier said the fight against terrorists must continue, all without compromising core values of freedom, democracy and tolerance.
Vincent Benoit, a spokesman for Endeavor Mining Corp., said the company’s foreign workers are very familiar with the risks, with many of them coming from nearby South Africa.
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French ambassador Gilles Thibault on Monday gave an account of the battle that placed more emphasis on the role played by French special forces and he said it was French troops who eliminated the attackers. Ouedraogo was a father of four and had accompanied staff and consultants on missions in Burkina Faso since 2008. Al-Mourabitoun, an al-Qaeda affiliated group based in the Sahel region of northern Mali, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Thieba said the two countries will share intelligence and resources to counter extremism.
