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SEVENTEEN PEOPLE HAVE been killed and a dozen others injured in a “terrorist attack” on a restaurant in Burkina Faso’s capital, the government said today.
Witnesses said three gunmen arrived at a Turkish restaurant in a pickup truck yesterday evening and opened fire on customers seated outside. The government then launched a counter-assault, with gunfire heard into the night.
“A terrorist attack at Istanbul restaurant on Ouagadougou’s Kwame Nkrumah Avenue claimed 17 victims, their nationalities are yet to be confirmed,” a government statement said, adding that another 12 people had been injured.
Communications minister Remis Dandjinou said it was not clear how many assailants were involved. ”They are confined to one part of the building they attacked. Security and elite forces are conducting an operation,” he said on television.
A paramedic told AFP one of the victims was a Turkish national.
“We evacuated 11 people but one of them, a Turk, died on arriving at hospital,” the paramedic said, declining to be named.
Police evacuated civilians from the area before launching the counter-assault, with the heavy exchange of fire becoming more sporadic as the operation went on.
One soldier had said there were hostages on the first and second floor of the two-storey building housing the Turkish restaurant. The mayor of Ouagadougou and government ministers were at the scene, he added.
Video footage posted online shows people fleeing as shouting and gunshots are heard. Armed officers in uniform are then seen walking towards the attack site.
An AFP journalist at the scene said the gunfire stopped at around 3am.
String of attacks
Burkina Faso, a poor landlocked nation bordering Mali and Niger, has seen a string of attacks claimed by jihadist groups in recent years.
In December 2016 a dozen soldiers were killed in an assault on their base in the north of the country. Last October there was an attack that killed four troops and two civilians.
The worst recent attack was an assault on a hotel and cafe in central Ouagadougou in January 2016 that killed 30 people including several foreigners.
Gunmen from the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group attacked the Splendid hotel and the Cappuccino restaurant opposite, both popular with Westerners, sparking a protracted standoff with security forces.
AQIM named the three gunmen responsible and published photos of them, dressed in military fatigues and wielding weapons.
The hotel and café attack came weeks after jihadists claimed an assault on a top hotel in Bamako, capital of neighbouring Mali, that killed 20 people.
There have also been kidnappings — of Burkinabes as well as foreigners. An Australian and a Romanian, abducted in 2015, are still being held hostage by Islamist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
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Good product. Well done to them.
Brilliant good news story. Well done. Great to see you bringing the jobs back to dublin. Don’t be minding the begrudgers!
Ha. A unicorn that’s (last line) “trending aggressively to becoming a profitable company”!
@Adrian: only applies to the definition of its valuation not its profitability
@Adrian: Twitter has been around over 15 years and still hasn’t posted a profit. Profitability in Tech is not as important as in traditional businesses
@ForeverFeel1ng: You’re joking right? Twitter surviving for 15 years without making a profit hints that it’s being kept afloat for other reasons, just like loss making newspapers.
@ForeverFeel1ng: Said no investor ever. Twitter is being kept afloat like a newspaper making losses: it’s a great propaganda and political agitation tool.
Intercom, isn’t that a communication device used in shopping centres. A mic and a speaker. The simple things, eh! Wish I thought of it.
@Paddy O Sullivan: That’s a tannoy.
Very interesting and innovative business model!
Finally, a powerful, scalable, efficient, growth supporting, and cost effective management tool / business platform capable of capturing and pulling together all channels of communications between likely participators in the global marketplace seeking the particular product or service and the firm offering same.
Early days, but with 25,000 customers already contributing $50 mil in annual Revenues, outlook is excellent for Intercom. Tenfold increase in customer base is a distinct possibility, which would comfortably justify existing valuations mentioned. Clearly, with $241 m invested already, someone has lots of faith!
Congratulations to all concerned!
And btw what is it? A messaging service wow, probably a advanced data collection service. That’s were the money is, apparently. Well done Irish guys! You’ve sold your soul for a few bob.
@Paddy O Sullivan: Jesus you’re some begrudger. They’re making money and putting Ireland on the tech map globally. Selling their souls? Would you rather them be on the dole? They’re working.
@Paddy O Sullivan: Close…but no cigar. It is customer service software actually with plenty of uses. Instead of whinging about it familiarise yourself with the company and the software it provides
I’m a bit uncomfortable with these valuations on, thus far, unprofitable companies.
The FAANG companies are already responsible for a huge proportion of market valuations. I hope we’re not heading for another dotcom bubble.
I wouldn’t be investing in them, they are swelled with VC money, $50mil Revenue is peanuts and VC money will need to be paid back sometime. Their product is essentially a chatbox which is tiresome for website visitors and very expensive compared to free alternatives (Drift etc)
They will be bust in a couple of years, big valuation comes with a price… But hopefully they will make a lot of moneys for them self’s.
This is the type of homegrown success and entrepnurial spirit we need to foster.
have your say