Burkina Television (RTB) showed security forces during the operation to end a siege at Ouagadougou Splendid Hotel by al Qaeda fighters to the sound of explosions and heavy gunfire on Saturday morning (January 16).
A military armoured emergency vehicle drove several times to the side of the hotel during the operation to rescue hostages.
Three Islamist gunmen were killed during the operation to retake the hotel which freed 126 hostages, the West African nation’s security minister said.
At least 20 people are believed to have been killed in the attack on the Splendid Hotel which began late on Friday (January 15). Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the raid.
Operations were also under way at a second hotel nearby, the Hotel Yibi, and security forces were trying to determine if some of the fighters were hiding there.
A Reuters witness said that clashes ended after a period of sustained gunfire and explosions that appeared to focus on the Restaurant Cappuccino early on Saturday.
Burkina Faso’s new government, which was appointed on Wednesday (January 13) following the election of President Roch Marc Kabore in November, was due to hold an emergency cabinet meeting at 9 a.m. (0900 GMT).
The Splendid Hotel is popular with Westerners and French soldiers based in Burkina Faso.
A doctor who treated some of those wounded in the attack said they had told him that the attackers appeared to target Westerners. However, the nationalities of those killed in the assault were not immediately known.
Reuters
