Attacks in the centre of Ouagadougou near the embassy of France

AFP

AFP

Friday, 2 march 2018 06:09

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Friday, 2 march 2018 06:09

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OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso | attacks armed for the French embassy and the French institute were underway Friday morning in the centre of Ouagadougou, according to a correspondent of the AFP and witnesses.

“Attack in progress at the embassy of France and the French Institute. Remain confined where you are, ” said a brief message posted in a message posted on the page Facebook of the embassy.

According to witnesses, five armed men exited a car and opened fire on passers-by before heading to the embassy of France in the centre of the capital city of Burkina Faso.

A correspondent of the AFP on the spot heard exchanges of fire to be intense and seen a vehicle, one of the assailants according to eyewitnesses, the fire on the floor. Units of the gendarmerie and of the army, spread out on the places was also noted in this corresponding.

Other witnesses have reported an explosion near the staff of the armed forces of burkina faso and the French institute, about a kilometre away from the first attack, always in the center of the capital of burkina faso.

The capital city of Burkina faso has in recent years been repeatedly the target of attacks by jihadist targets frequented by Westerners, and the attacks of groups jihadists against representatives of the State (gendarmeries, schools in particular) are regular in the north of the country, on the border of unstable areas of Mali.

On 13 August, two assailants opened fire on a cafe-restaurant halal, Aziz Istanbul, located on the main avenue of the capital, killing 19 people dead and 21 injured. The attack has not been claimed.

On January 15, 2016, thirty people, including six Canadians and five Europeans had been killed in a raid on jihadist against the hotel Splendid and the restaurant Cappuccino in the centre of Ouagadougou. The assault, led by the forces of burkina faso supported by the French military, had lasted a dozen hours, and the attack was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb islmaique (Aqim), which assigns to the group’s jihadist Al-Mourabitoune.