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Military regains control of hotel stormed by armed attackers in Burkina Faso After deadly hotel attack, Burkina Faso contemplates a future with terrorism
(about 7 hours later)
NAIROBI — Authorites in Burkina Faso said Saturday that at least 23 people were slain after gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in the capital, seizing over 100 hostages in a night-long assault that ended when security forces killed the four attackers. NAIROBI — Until Friday night, Burkina Faso was a country that appeared to be off the radar of Islamist extremist groups, engrossed in its own coups and counter-coups, seemingly forgotten by the militants waging attacks to its north and east.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the assault -- the first large-scale terrorist attack in a country plagued more by political instability than Islamist extremism. Then, after sunset, gunmen stormed the Splendid Hotel in the capital, Ouagadougou, taking more than 100 hostages and forcing the country to rethink the threats it faces as Islamist groups in sub-Saharan Africa seek new high-profile targets. By the time the attack was over on Saturday, at least 23 people had been killed, according to Burkina Faso’s president, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.
Two of the attackers were women, authorities said. Adding to the mystery and shock surrounding the attack, Kaboré told reporters that two of the four assailants were women. An al-Qaeda affiliate with roots in northwest Africa asserted responsibility for the attack.
"We appeal to the people to be vigilant and brave because we must fight on," said Burkina Faso's president, Roch Marc Kaboré.
The attack heightened concern about the ability of Islamist extremists to attack civilian and military targets across Sub-Saharan Africa. The same day, on the other side of the continent, another al-Qaeda-linked group, al-Shabab, raided a Kenyan military base in Somalia and claimed to kill 63 people. Kenyan officials acknowledged the attack, but said the death toll was lower.
The attack on the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou was particularly shocking since country has had little connection to radical Islamist groups, and is far from the bases of the region's well-known terrorist groups. In the hours after the attack ended, with troops freeing 126 people from the hotel, citizens of Burkina Faso were left with questions -- why their country had been targeted, how two women had been recruited to execute the attack, whether their embattled democracy had the resolve to craft a meaningful response.
[A popular uprising, an attempted coup and an election: Burkina Faso over 18 months][A popular uprising, an attempted coup and an election: Burkina Faso over 18 months]
On the “Muslim Africa” Telegram account of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the extremist group wrote on Friday that its fighters were battling “the enemies of the religion,” according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group. In a later statement, the group said the operation was aimed at punishing France and the “disbelieving West,” according to the SITE translation. Even after a week of terrorist assaults on unusual targets — first a tourist district in Istanbul, then a business quarter in Jakarta, Indonesia, both attacked by Islamic State sympathizers — the seizure of the Splendid Hotel raised questions about the militant group’s apparent movement well beyond its traditional power bases.
France maintains a military base in Burkina Faso, part of its ongoing campaign against Islamist extremism in north and west Africa. Its troop presence was on display during the attack, as French soldiers worked to track down and kill the four terrorists. The Splendid Hotel had been chosen as a target, some surmised, because of its international clientele, includingFrench guests. That expansion has been particularly true of groups in sub-Saharan Africa. Islamist extremist group al-Shabab was born in Somalia, but by 2010 it began carrying out attacks in Uganda and Kenya in retaliation for a multinational military campaign on Somali soil. Boko Haram expanded far beyond its base in northeastern Nigeria, sending suicide bombers to Niger and Chad.
Burkina Faso, a former French colony, has also worked with the United States in the fight against violent Islamist extremists in West Africa. On Friday, at least one member of the U.S. military was “providing advice and assistance to French forces at the hotel,” according to an American defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity under Pentagon rules. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb was founded in the Sahel of northwestern Africa, with a strong Algerian influence, but on Friday it proved that it would continue to expand the scope of its targets.
The official said France had asked for U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support. The U.S. military has about 60 troops in the country who work with the French troops on security assistance. The group posted a statement online saying the hotel attack in Burkina Faso was aimed at punishing France and the “disbelieving West,” according to a translation from the SITE Intelligence Group.
French President François Hollande called the incident an "odious and cowardly attack.”
Those who saw the hotel and the surrounding area during the operation described a gruesome scene. Internal Affairs Minister Simon Compaore confirmed that 10 bodies were found inside the Cappuccino Cafe, a restaurant next to the Splendid Hotel, according to an Associated Press report.
[Al-Qaeda vs. ISIS: The radical rivalry][Al-Qaeda vs. ISIS: The radical rivalry]
Witnesses told the Associated Press that four armed men burst into the hotel and a neighboring cafe at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Other reports said the assault began when men set fire to vehicles outside the hotel. Once they entered, the attackers took a number of hostages, and flames engulfed the area. The reference to France might explain why attackers chose Ouagadougou. In 2014, the French military launched Operation Barkhane to counter the growth of jihadist groups in northern and western Africa, deploying 3,000 troops in five of its former colonies. One of them was Burkina Faso, a majority-Muslim country, where a special forces base was built in Ouagadougou.
Early Saturday, a Burkina Faso official said extremists in the north had kidnapped an Austrian doctor and his wife, AP reported. It was not immediately clear whether there was any connection with the assault on the hotel in Ouagadougou. “They can see a big crusade that France is undertaking and they see it failing,” said Jeremy Keenan, a professor at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. “It’s fertile ground for extremists to recruit even more.”
The attack on the hotel mirrored an operation in November, in which fighters from two groups — al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and al-Mourabitoun — held guests hostage at the Radisson Blu in Mali’s capital, leaving 20 people dead. “France has a big military base in Ouagadougou, and in that way it’s as big a target as any other place,” Keenan said.
[The jihadi threat to international order] France’s troop presence was on display during the attack, as French soldiers worked with local forces to track down and kill the four terrorists and evacuate at least 126 people. The Splendid Hotel had been chosen as a target, some surmised, because of its international clientele, including French guests.
Even hours after the attack, the precise death toll remained uncertain. While Kaboré reported that at least 23 had been killed, the French ambassador in Burkina Faso told reporters that at least 27 were dead. French President François Hollande called the assault an “odious and cowardly attack.”
In the past few weeks, al-Qaeda’s rival, the Islamic State, has claimed a string of terrorist attacks in different parts of the world. On Thursday, assailants set off bombs and opened fire on a busy street in Jakarta, Indonesia. Five of the attackers and two other people — a Canadian and an Indonesian — died. Those who saw the hotel and the surrounding area during the operation described a gruesome scene. At least 10 people were killed in the Cappuccino Cafe, a restaurant next to the hotel, according to the Associated Press. The cafe is owned by an Italian man, whose wife and 5-year-old daughter were slain in the attack, the AP reported.
Two days earlier, a suicide bomber set off a blast in the historic tourist district of Istanbul, killing 10 German tourists. Those two attacks were claimed by the Islamic State. Witnesses said the assault began when assailants set fire to vehicles outside the hotel. Once they entered, the attackers took hostages, and flames engulfed the area. The battle to regain control of the hotel took about 12 hours, leaving desperate relatives of hostages with little idea of what was happening inside.
Before Friday, Burkina Faso had been plagued far more by domestic political problems than terrorism. The country has been in turmoil since October 2014, when President Blaise Compaoré was overthrown during large protests. Compaoré now lives in exile in the Ivory Coast, but forces loyal to him staged a coup in September, briefly seizing power. In November, voters chose Kaboré, a former prime minister, as the new president. Even hours after the attack, the death toll remained uncertain. While Kaboré reported that at least 23 had been killed, the French ambassador in Burkina Faso told reporters that at least 27 were dead.
Last year, in an incident that was seen largely as an aberration, a Romanian security guard was abducted from a manganese mine near Burkina Faso’s border with Mali. Al- Mourabitoun, an al-Qaeda-linked group, later claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. The attack was strikingly similar to an operation in November, when militants claiming allegiance to two groups — al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and al-Mourabitoun — held hotel guests hostage at the Radisson Blu in Mali’s capital.
That attack, which killed 20, was seen at least in part as a strike against France, which sent thousands of troops to Mali in 2013 to expel militants who had taken control of the country’s vast northern region.
Now, in Burkina Faso, a newly elected president in one of the region’s least stable democracies will confront yet another challenge. The country has faced a tumultuous year, after President Blaise Compaoré was overthrown during large protests in October 2014. Last September, forces allied with Compaoré staged a failed coup against the transitional government. In November, voters chose Kaboré, a former prime minister, as the new president. The political upheaval has threatened to slow the economy of what was already a low-income nation.
“We appeal to the people to be vigilant and brave because we must fight on,” Kaboré said in a radio address Saturday.
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