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Gunmen Kill 18 at Restaurant in Burkina Faso Gunmen Kill 18 at Restaurant in Burkina Faso
(about 5 hours later)
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — Gunmen believed to be Islamist extremists opened fire at a Turkish restaurant in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, late Sunday, killing at least 18 people, the second attack on a restaurant popular with foreigners in two years. DAKAR, Senegal — The authorities in Burkina Faso said on Monday that at least 18 people had been killed when gunmen stormed a popular cafe and sprayed diners with bullets, including a family celebrating a 9-year-old’s birthday.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which continued into the early hours of Monday. Gunfire could still be heard almost seven hours after it began. The assault on Sunday evening in Ouagadougou, the capital, was eerily similar to an attack in January 2016, when gunmen killed dozens of people at a hotel and a restaurant on a busy weekend evening. Islamist extremists were blamed, and some experts believed the same groups were behind the assault on Sunday as well.
The communications minister, Remi Dandjinou, said Monday morning that the victims had come from several countries, and that at least eight people had also been wounded. He added that two of the assailants had been killed, that the response by security forces had ended, and that searches were continuing in the neighborhood around the restaurant. Officials said the gunmen in Sunday’s attack arrived at the Aziz Istanbul cafe by motorcycle around 9 p.m., and first opened fire on patrons in an outdoor area before moving inside.
Security forces and armored vehicles arrived at the crowded restaurant, Aziz Istanbul, after reports of shots being fired. Capt. Guy Ye of the police said at least three assailants had arrived at the restaurant on motorcycles and had opened fire, apparently at random. Capt. Guy Hervé Yé, a military spokesman, said that at least two assailants had been killed.
Burkina Faso, a landlocked nation in Western Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. It shares a border with Mali, which has long battled Islamic extremists. Hyacinthe Sanou, a journalist in Ouagadougou who visited the scene shortly after the attack, said a family had been in the restaurant celebrating the birthday of their 9-year-old son. The boy was struck by a bullet and has been hospitalized.
The episode overnight summoned memories of a January 2016 attack at a hotel and cafe that left 30 people dead. The three assailants in that standoff were foreign-born, according to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which claimed responsibility for that attack, as did the jihadist group Al Mourabitoun. But the terrorist threat in Burkina Faso is increasingly domestic, experts say. The restaurant, on a busy commercial strip not far from the airport, is popular with both locals and foreigners. Many victims’ nationalities were not yet available.
The northern border region is the home of a local preacher, Ibrahim Malam Dicko, who has claimed responsibility for recent deadly attacks against troops and civilians. Burkina Faso’s government considers the group he leads, Ansarul Islam, a terrorist organization. President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré released a statement on Monday condemning the attack and offering condolences to the victims.
“The fight against terrorism is a long-term struggle. That is why I appeal to the vigilance, solidarity and unity of the whole nation to face the cowardice of our adversaries,” Mr. Kaboré said. “Burkina Faso will recover from this ordeal because its valiant people will oppose uncompromising resistance to terrorism and to all enemies of democracy and the progress of our homeland.”
His sentiments were repeated by other leaders in the region, as well as by the president of France, who all issued statements denouncing terrorism and supporting Burkina Faso.
The cafe is less than two blocks from the Cappuccino Cafe and the Splendid Hotel, the sites of the January 2016 attack, which left more than 25 people dead and dozens more injured. Groups affiliated with Al Qaeda were blamed for the assault.
As of Monday afternoon, no one had claimed responsibility for the attack at Aziz Istanbul, but it bears the hallmarks of other assaults by Qaeda affiliates operating in the Sahel region, according to Andrew Lebovich, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations who has studied the groups. Some of the affiliates recently united under an entity called Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, analysts said.
Groups tied to Al Qaeda once held a huge territory in Mali before being uprooted and scattered by the French military. Despite a 2015 peace accord in Mali, United Nations peacekeepers stationed in the region have been attacked several times. The mission has become one of the most dangerous in the world.
Burkina Faso is a target of terrorism because it contributes more troops than any other West African nation to the peacekeeping mission in Mali, according to Sean Smith, senior Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, a global risk consultancy firm.
“Attacking soft targets is an easy route to instill fear into millions of people,” he said in an email. “Targeting civilians in more cosmopolitan locations generates far more media coverage than attacking U.N. peacekeepers.”
A South African tourist who was abducted nearly six years ago from an inn in Timbuktu, Mali, by the North African branch of Al Qaeda was freed recently. But a retired European intelligence officials said a ransom of more than $4 million had been paid for his release.
Aziz Istanbul serves Turkish dishes, pizza, ice cream and drinks adorned with lemon wedges, maraschino cherries and umbrellas. It’s known for elaborate cakes: Soccer ball-shaped cakes, sneaker-shaped cakes, and cakes decorated with “Congratulations Miss Burkina 2017” are featured on its Facebook page. The page also shows photographs of teenagers celebrating high school graduation, and men at a bachelor party.
Many of the businesses along the strip that includes Aziz Istanbul had increased security after the attack last year. Patrons said Aziz Istanbul had a single armed guard posted at the door.