In a message to the nation, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said
the people of Burkina Faso must unite in the fight against terrorism. He
also announced on the national broadcaster, Burkina 24, that security
forces would be stepping up their efforts to thwart future attacks and
asked people to comply with the new restrictions.
"These truly barbaric criminal acts carried out against innocent people,
claimed by the criminal organization al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
(AQIM) seek to destabilize our country and its republican institutions,
and to undermine efforts to build a democratic, quiet and prosperous
nation," said Kabore.
The national mourning began Sunday, a day after Burkinabe and French
forces ended a more than 12-hour siege at the upscale Splendid Hotel in
downtown Ouagadougou. When the gunfire and explosions finally stopped,
authorities said 18 were killed in the hotel and 10 were killed at the
nearby Cappuccino Cafe.
Among the victims was a Ukrainian woman who was co-owner of the cafe
with her Italian husband, Gaetano Santomenna, according to Ukrainian
officials. Although Santomenna was not at the cafe and survived the
attack, the couple's son, Michel Santomenna, 9, was killed, according to
the Italian foreign ministry. Italy's foreign minister, Paolo
Gentiloni, called the child's death "a horrendous crime," in a tweet
which also expressed sympathy with the boy's father.
The toll also includes six Canadians, according to Canadian officials.
Others killed include seven citizens of Burkina Faso, two Ukrainians,
two Swiss, two French and one each from the U.S., Holland, Portugal and Libya, and one French-Ukrainian, according to Burkina Faso officials who released a partial list. Other bodies were being identified.
The American — Michael Riddering, 45, of Cooper City, Florida — had been
working as a missionary in Burkina Faso since 2011, where he and his
wife ran an orphanage that also provided shelter to abused women and
widows. He is survived by his four children, two of whom were adopted
from Burkina Faso.
Riddering was "a wonderful, godly man" who managed to find spare time to
help teams of volunteers from other organizations who dug wells for
local residents, said John Anderson, a board member of Sheltering Wings,
Riddering's charity.
"During the Ebola crisis, when it was hard to find people to do the
digging, Mike would go out and join them so they could continue doing
the work," Anderson said. "And that's backbreaking work. He never
stopped moving and never stopped helping."
Swiss authorities said its two nationals who were killed were also in Burkina Faso for humanitarian reasons.
The al-Qaeda group claiming responsibility for the carnage released an
audio tape titled: "A Message Signed with Blood and Body Parts."
On Sunday, French authorities were back at the scene carrying out a
forensic investigation. Special forces from the former colonizer came
during the overnight siege from their base in neighboring Mali to help
Burkina Faso's military put an end to the killings.
Some guests returned to the Splendid Hotel to pick up their luggage and
other belongings left behind when guests fled for their lives when the
gunmen began firing to kill as many people as possible.
The attack, which began around 7:30 p.m. Friday, was the first of its
kind in Burkina Faso, a largely Muslim country that had managed to avoid
the kinds of jihadist attacks that have destabilized neighboring Mali
since 2012.
In a separate incident two Australian humanitarian workers were
kidnapped by extremists in northern Burkina Faso. Surgeon Ken Elliott
and his wife Jocelyn were abducted Friday. The couple, reported to be in
their 80s, were kidnapped in the northern town of Djibo where they had
run a medical center for 40 years
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