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| 3 Burkina Faso Attackers May Still Be at Large, French Premier Says | 3 Burkina Faso Attackers May Still Be at Large, French Premier Says |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| PARIS — The prime minister of France said Tuesday that three assailants involved in the deadly attacks in the capital of Burkina Faso last week might have escaped. | |
| Prime Minister Manuel Valls told lawmakers at the National Assembly, France’s lower house of Parliament, that the attacks on the Splendid Hotel and a nearby cafe on Friday night had been carried out by six people. Three were killed in a raid early Saturday by Burkinabe security forces, aided by French soldiers, and three were still at large, he said. | |
| Mr. Valls did not identify the suspects, nor did he provide additional details about the attacks, which left at least 30 people dead in Ouagadougou, the capital. | |
| The authorities in Burkina Faso had not confirmed Mr. Valls’s account. A spokesman for the Burkina Faso Army said that, after reviewing video of the attacks, the authorities believed the gunmen who were killed in the raid might have had accomplices. | The authorities in Burkina Faso had not confirmed Mr. Valls’s account. A spokesman for the Burkina Faso Army said that, after reviewing video of the attacks, the authorities believed the gunmen who were killed in the raid might have had accomplices. |
| The spokesman could not confirm the number of suspects or even say for certain that other people were involved with carrying out the attacks. | |
| In Ouagadougou, where more than a dozen charred cars and motorbikes were left around the badly damaged lobby of the hotel, confusion has reigned about exactly what transpired during the attacks. | In Ouagadougou, where more than a dozen charred cars and motorbikes were left around the badly damaged lobby of the hotel, confusion has reigned about exactly what transpired during the attacks. |
| Some witnesses reported seeing women among those who attacked the Splendid Hotel and the Cappuccino Cafe next door. Others reported seeing more than three gunmen. | Some witnesses reported seeing women among those who attacked the Splendid Hotel and the Cappuccino Cafe next door. Others reported seeing more than three gunmen. |
| One government official acknowledged that the response to the late-night attacks in the central business district of the capital was chaotic: Burkinabe police and the military responded to the reports of explosions and gunfire, with help from the French military as well as the United States. | One government official acknowledged that the response to the late-night attacks in the central business district of the capital was chaotic: Burkinabe police and the military responded to the reports of explosions and gunfire, with help from the French military as well as the United States. |
| Mr. Valls said the siege of the hotel and the cafe was part of a series of attacks on Friday in Burkina Faso. They included an assault on the entourage of a local official in the northern region of the country, which left two people dead and two wounded, and the kidnapping of an Australian couple living in the country. | |
| The attacks were “distinct but certainly coordinated,” Mr. Valls told lawmakers. He praised the authorities in Burkina Faso for reacting swiftly to the attack on the hotel in Ouagadougou, and thanked French military forces and medical teams who provided assistance. | The attacks were “distinct but certainly coordinated,” Mr. Valls told lawmakers. He praised the authorities in Burkina Faso for reacting swiftly to the attack on the hotel in Ouagadougou, and thanked French military forces and medical teams who provided assistance. |
| On Monday, Leila Alaoui, 33, a well-regarded French-Moroccan photographer who was wounded during the attack in Ouagadougou, died from her injuries, increasing the death toll to 30. | |
| “The young democracy that is Burkina Faso needs our support and our help, and the president of the republic has offered France’s assistance, most notably to ensure that the investigation runs smoothly,” Mr. Valls said Tuesday. | “The young democracy that is Burkina Faso needs our support and our help, and the president of the republic has offered France’s assistance, most notably to ensure that the investigation runs smoothly,” Mr. Valls said Tuesday. |
| The Qaeda affiliate in North Africa claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said had been carried out in coordination with another Islamic militant group in the region. | |
| Mr. Valls said the attacks showed that France’s military presence in the region was necessary. France has deployed 3,500 troops across 10 bases and outposts in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad to fight Islamic militant groups operating in the region. | Mr. Valls said the attacks showed that France’s military presence in the region was necessary. France has deployed 3,500 troops across 10 bases and outposts in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad to fight Islamic militant groups operating in the region. |