Gunfire, explosions at hotel in Burkina Faso's capital

January 16, 2016 03:59

Gunfire and explosions have erupted in Burkina Faso's capital at an upscale hotel popular with Westerners in the West African country, witnesses said.

An Associated Press reporter near the scene said yesterday that several cars were also ablaze outside the four-story Splendid Hotel in downtown Ouagadougou and that sporadic gunfire could still be heard two hours after the attack began.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the violence, though jihadists have attacked hotels before in neighboring Mali, including a devastating attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in November that left 20 people dead.

The US Embassy in Ouagadougou tweeted: "We are closely following the situation downtown."

While Burkina Faso has largely been spared the violence wracked by Islamic extremist groups in Mali, a Romanian national was abducted last April.

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