Inhabitants of Ouagadougou are still to recover from shock after militants carried out simultaneous attacks on Friday morning on the military headquarters of Burkina Faso and the French Embassy in Ouagadougou.
According to Reuters, Attackers in Burkina Faso’s capital killed eight people and wounded dozens more in a coordinated assault on the army headquarters and French embassy that France’s foreign minister said was likely carried out by “terrorist groups”.
During a press briefing, Burkina Faso’s security minister Clément Sawado told journalists that the assault appeared to have been aimed at a gathering of senior officers but unfortunately to the attackers the meeting was moved at he last minute.
“Actually, a meeting was suppose to hold at the military headquarters but it was held in another room. If the meeting took place where it was suppose to, it would have been an extremely dramatic situation because many of our officers had to meet with the Chief of Staff for this meeting. “
The Burkinabe government says at least eight government troops and 8 assailants lost their lives during the attack, but other reports from news agencies suggest a bloodier outcome with dozens reportedly killed.
West Africa’s arid Sahel region is suffering a spike in violence by militant groups, some with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State, that is drawing an increasingly aggressive response from countries including France and the United States.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which is the third major assault on Ouagadougou in just over two years.
Sawadogo said 80 people were wounded, three seriously, after a car laden with explosives blew up in the army headquarters.
Seven killed, around 50 wounded in Burkina Faso attack – gov’t
Unidentified assailants killed five people and wounded around 50 others during an attack on Burkina Faso’s military headquarters in the capital Ouagadougou on Friday, said government spokesman Remi Dandjinou.
Speaking on state television, he said that two paramilitary gendarmes were also killed defending the French embassy, which also came under attacks.
There were conflicting reports over the number of deaths however, AFP news agency reported that at least 30 people were killed in the attack.
The French embassy,the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the headquarters of Burkina Faso’s armed forces, came under attack, a government statement said.