Seventeen dead in Ouagadougou restaurant attack
The Istanbul restaurant in Burkina Fasa's capital was invaded by militants last night
At least 17 people have been killed and eight others wounded during a terrorist attack on a restaurant in Ouagadougou, the capital of the west African nation of Burkina Faso.
Witnesses say that at least three of the attackers were killed by security forces, but several people remain trapped inside to the building.
"Attackers barricaded themselves in the Istanbul restaurant on Avenue Kwame Nkrumah in the centre of the city," CNN says. It was known to be popular with foreigners visiting the nation's capital.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"There are fears that the attack is the work of one of the affiliates of al-Qaeda that are active in the Sahel region," the BBC's Alex Duval Smith reports.
However, the Guardian says "there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the violence on Sunday, which continued into the early hours of Monday with another heavy exchange of gunfire overheard by witnesses".
Burkina Faso, "like other countries in West Africa, has been targeted sporadically by jihadist groups operating across Africa's Sahel," Reuters reports. "Most attacks have been along its remote northern border region with Mali, which has seen attacks by Islamist militants for more than a decade."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'All too often, we get caught up in tunnel vision'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
2024: the year of legacy media failures
In the Spotlight From election criticism to continued layoffs, the media has had it rough in 2024
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Marty Makary: the medical contrarian who will lead the FDA
In the Spotlight What Johns Hopkins surgeon and commentator Marty Makary will bring to the FDA
By David Faris Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing?
Talking Point Kremlin's newest ballistic missile has some worried for Nato nations
By The Week UK Published
-
Russia vows retaliation for Ukrainian missile strikes
Speed Read Ukraine's forces have been using U.S.-supplied, long-range ATCMS missiles to hit Russia
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published