Twenty-three people have been killed and many others wounded after the Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) attacked the Splendid Hotel and took hostages there Friday.
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Dr Ken Elliott and his wife Jocelyn, originally from WA, had been running a hospital in the country’s north in the town of Djibo, close to Burkina Faso’s border with Mali.
“They are held in high esteem by the local people”.
One survivor of the attack at the Cappuccino restaurant said that diners first mistook the shots and explosions for firecrackers before two gunmen burst in dressed in black and brandishing assault rifles.
A fire had raged in the main entrance of Ouagadougou’s four-star Splendid hotel and screams could be heard from inside as Burkinabe forces prepared an assault to rescue hostages still trapped five hours after the assault began.
A restaurant opposite the hotel was also attacked and a staff member, reached by telephone, said several people had been killed, but was not able to give an exact toll.
The seizure of a luxury hotel in Burkina Faso’s capital by al-Qaeda-linked extremists ended on Saturday when Burkina Faso and French security forces killed four jihadist attackers and freed more than 126 people.
A US official said that all embassy and military personnel were accounted for but they were trying to ascertain the whereabouts of other Americans who may have been in the area. Four terrorists died in a special police operation.
“There have been warning signs and if there is an element of surprise it is that this did not come earlier” said Cynthia Ohayon West Africa analyst at International Crisis Group.
The ABC reported that, a European diplomatic group claimed that they had received intelligence on Friday about the kidnapping of a Western couple in Burkina Faso.
Two of the three attackers at the Splendid Hotel were identified as female, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said on national radio.
The same group which laid siege to an upscale hotel in Mali in November is believed to be behind this attack.
Interior Minister Simon Compaore said 10 bodies had been found on the cafe terrace.
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Burkina Faso has “never caved in under any circumstances and it’s not going to start now”, he said. In October 2014, a coup overthrew long-time leader Blaise Compaore.
