West African nations will 'fight back' after a Burkina Faso hotel attack
West African nations will "fight back" after a Burkina Faso hotel attack that left dozens dead, including six Canadians, and showed jihadist fighters expanding their reach in the region, Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi said on January 18, 2016. The attack on a four-star hotel came weeks after an attack on a luxury Mali hotel in Bamako claimed by Islamists that left 20 people dead.
Burkina Faso's President Roch Marc Christian Kabore (L) and Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi (R) visit the Splendid hotel and the Capuccino cafe on in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.Issouf Sanogo/AFP / Getty Images
Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore (centre L) and Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi (centre R) greet government ministers and military officers at the airport in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.Joe Penney/Reuters
The front of Cappuccino restaurant is seen from a burned-out car after an attack on the restaurant and the Splendid Hotel, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.Joe Penney/Reuters
Pizzas are seen on the terrace of Cappuccino restaurant after an attack on the restaurant and the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.Joe Penney/Reuters
A forensic police officer exits the Splendid Hotel after al Qaeda militants attack on the hotel and a restaurant in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.Joe Penney/Reuters
This combination of pictures released on January 18, 2016 by AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghred) shows the pictures of Jihadists (L to R) Al-Battar al-Ansari, Abu Muhammad al-Buqali al-Ansari, Ahmed al-Fulani al-Ansari presented as the attackers of the Splendid hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.-/AFP / Getty Images
Bottles of water are seen in front of Cappuccino restaurant after an attack on the restaurant and the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.Joe Penney/Reuters
A Burkinabe investigator walks next to burnt cars in front of the Splendid hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.Issouf Sanogo/AFP / Getty Images
Forensic workers in protective clothing and Burkina Faso soldiers examine the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.Sunday Alamba/The Associated Press
Soldiers stand guard in an armoured vehicle outside the Splendid Hotel after al Qaeda militants attack on the hotel and a restaurant in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.Joe Penney/Reuters