Gunmen launch attacks in Burkina Faso's capital, killing 7 and injuring dozens

Gunmenin Burkina Faso'scapital killed seven people and wounded some 50others in aco-ordinated assault on the army headquarters and French Embassy.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for theattack, which is the third major assault on Ouagadougou in just over two years.

Previous attacks were conducted by allies of al-Qaeda inreprisal for Burkina Faso's participation in a regional fight against Islamist militants.

Speaking on state television, government spokesperson RemiDandjinou said the unidentified gunmen killed five Burkinabesoldiers and wounded around 50 others at the militaryheadquarters. Two members of Burkina Faso's paramilitarygendarmes were killed defending the embassy, he said.

A government statement said four gunmen were "neutralized"at the French Embassy. The defence minister said threeassailants were killed at the army headquarters.

Police said one member of the group, who had attemptedto flee near the city's main market, was being surrounded bysecurity forces.

Witnesses said masked gunmen attacked the downtown armyheadquarters at around 10 a.m. local time.

"I saw people with sacks on their backs attack the guard.Then I heard the explosion," KaderSanoutoldReuters. "I saw soldiers flee the army headquarters building running."

A French diplomatic source said that no French nationalswere killed in the attacks.

The explosion inside the headquarters shook surroundingbuildings, set the compound on fire and sent up a thick columnof black smoke.

Symbolic attack

Panicked residents fled the city centre on foot ormotorbikes as dozens of Burkina Faso special forces and armoured vehicles took up positions in the area.

A Reuters reporter saw an ambulance entering the armycompound.

Around two kilometres away, the French Embassyalso came under attack. Police also took up positions near theoffices of the prime minister where gunfire was also reported.

"Burkinabe security forces are mobilized against theattackers with the support of security forces at our embassy," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in a statement.

An aide to Le Drian later said the diplomatic compound andOuagadougou's French cultural institute, which the embassy hadearlier said was involved in the attack, were no longer indanger.

Police took up positions near the offices of the primeminister where gunfire was also reported.

A Reuters reporter said gunfire had largely ceased by noon.

The French targets attacked are symbolic given that FrenchPresident Emmanuel Macron chose to outline his Africa strategy,including the fight against militants, in Ouagadougou inNovember.

'Terrorist attack'

Burkina Faso is a former French colony and, like severalothers countries in West Africa and Central Africa, retains close security and trade links with Paris. The landlocked country ofaround 19 million exports cotton and gold.

Jean-Marc Chtaigner, France's ambassador to West Africa'sSahel region, tweeted: "Terrorist attack this morning in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: solidarity with colleagues andBurkinabe friends." He urged people to avoid the city centre.

Islamist militants have stepped up attacks in major citiesin West Africa the last few years, including deadly assaults in Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Niger.

Suspected jihadists killed at least 18 people last Augustduring a raid on a restaurant in Ouagadougou, and militants havetargeted Burkinabe security forces along its remote northernborder region with Mali.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimedresponsibility for an attack on a restaurant and hotel inOuagadougou in January 2016 in which 30 people were killed.

Five countries Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Mali andMauritania launched a new task force last year to tackleIslamist militants in the arid Sahel region, to whichinternational donors have committed $500 million US.

France which has some 4,000 troops in the region as part ofa counter-terrorism force, has bemoaned that the militants havescored military and symbolic victories in West Africa while theG5 force has struggled to win financing and become operational.