Militants Carry Out Deadly Attacks in Burkina Faso
Targets could include hotels, restaurants, police stations, customs offices, military posts,
and schools." Blaise Compaoré, the longtime president of Burkina Faso, a former French colony once known as Upper Volta, was ousted in a popular uprising in late 2014; a coup was mounted the following year but ultimately failed.
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA and JAIME YAYA BARRYMARCH 2, 2018
Militants carried out simultaneous attacks on Friday morning on the military headquarters of Burkina Faso
and the French Embassy in the nation’s capital, the government said.
President Emmanuel Macron of France called President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of Burkina Faso
and condemned the attack in "the strongest terms," Mr. Macron’s office said in a statement.
It appeared to be another stunning assault by Islamist militants in Burkina Faso, a West African nation
that has suffered two big deadly attacks by jihadists in the past two years.
France leads a 5,000-member multinational force — including troops from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad
and Mauritania — that is trying to combat terrorism in the region.
The assault on the military headquarters appeared to have been aimed at a gathering of senior officers, according to Security Minister Clément Sawadogo, who told journalists
that the army might have been "decapitated" had the meeting not been fortuitously moved to a different location at the last minute.
" it said in a travel advisory. that Terrorist groups continue plotting attacks in Burkina Faso,
