CANADIANS KILLED IN EXTREMIST ATTACK
Pair among 18 dead at diner in Burkina Faso
Two Canadians were among 18 people killed in a suspected extremist attack on a popular restaurant in Burkina Faso.
Gunmen riding motorcycles roared up to the Turkish restaurant in Ouagadougou, the capital of the West African nation, at around 9 p. m. local time and opened fire, battling security forces in a hostage-taking standoff that ended early Monday.
The two gunmen pulled assault rifles out of their bags and opened fire on diners on the terrace outside the restaurant before moving inside, according to Radio France Internationale.
The Aziz Istanbul restaurant is known as a place where foreigners gather, and it was packed Sunday night with a birthday party for a nine- year- old boy, the radio report added. The boy was among the 22 injured.
Security f orces in armoured vehicles surrounded the area, eventually cornering the gunmen in an upper floor of the restaurant where they took hostages, said the country’s communications minister, Remi Dandjinou. Security forces killed the two attackers, he said.
“This is a terrorist attack,” Dandjinou told reporters.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Burkina Faso has been hit by Islamist attacks before. Later Monday, a UN peacekeepers’ compound in neighbouring Mali came under fire from gunmen.
President Roch Kabore condemned the attack, expressed condolences to the families of the victim and praised security forces for t heir prompt r esponse. He declared three days of mourning.
Global Affairs Canada identified one of the two Canadians killed as Tammy Chen of Ontario. A Quebec- based anti poverty group said one of their volunteers was the second Canadian victim, Bilel Diffalah.
Ottawa said out of respect for the family it would not confirm the identity of the second Canadian victim.
The Montreal- based nongovernmental organization, called CECI, has been operating in Burkina Faso since 1985.
Eight of the victims were from Burkina Faso. In addition to the Canadians, three Lebanese, two Kuwaitis, and citizens of France, Senegal, Nigeria and Turkey were killed.