A police officer stands guard during a visit by Burkina Faso’s and Benin’s presidents to the Splendid hotel and the Capuccino cafe on January 18, 2016 in Ouagadougou (Photo/AFP Photo).At least 17 people were killed and 12 injured on Sunday evening in Ouagadougou, the capital of the West African nation of Burkina Faso, when three gunmen stormed a Turkish restaurant full of customers and opened fire. The government described the attack as an act of terrorism.
“A terrorist attack at Istanbul restaurant on Ouagadougou’s Kwame Nkrumah Avenue claimed 17 victims, their nationalities are yet to be confirmed,” the government said in a statement.
The gunmen arrived at a Turkish restaurant in a pickup truck and opened fire on customers seated outside. The government then launched a counter-assault, with gunfire heard into the night, till about 3 a.m, according to the AFP.
In December 2016, many soldiers were killed following an assault on their base in the north of the country, barely two months after an attack in October killed four troops and two civilians.
An assault on a hotel and cafe in central Ouagadougou in January 2016 killed 30 people including several foreigners.