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JEDDAH/OUAGADOUGOU: Extremists opened fire on the French Embassy and army headquarters in separate attacks in Burkina Faso’s capital on Friday, killing at least seven soldiers, while eight of the militants were slain, a government official said.
More than 90 people were wounded in the violence in the former French colony in West Africa, and officials called it a terrorist attack. There was no claim of responsibility.
��������Ƶ condemned the attack, stressing the Kingdom’s rejection of terrorism and extremism of all kinds. An official source at the Foreign Ministry extended condolences to the victims, people and the government of Burkina Faso.
Five emergency centers were set up in hospitals, a military barracks and at a stadium in Ouagadougou to treat the casualties, said Col. Amade Kafando, director general of Burkina Faso’s army health department. There were fears that the death toll could rise.
Gunfire and explosions resounded for hours but subsided by midday. Workers fled offices near the site of the violence, and helicopters were seen above the embassy.
Witnesses at state TV offices that face the embassy told The Associated Press that five attackers arrived in a pickup truck, shouted, “Allahu Akbar,” and began shooting. They also set fire to the truck, the witnesses added.
The neighborhood also houses other embassies, the prime minister’s office and UN offices. The French Foreign Ministry later said the situation near the embassy had stabilized.
Across central Ouagadougou to the west, heavy smoke rose from the army joint chief of staff’s office, where witnesses reported loud explosions. Windows were broken there and in the surrounding buildings.
The assailants there also arrived in a pickup and starting shooting at soldiers, said Moussa Korbeogo, a trader at a nearby market.
“Some of the soldiers ran into a nearby bank to seek shelter. Several were killed outside and inside the premises,” Korbeogo said.