West African nations are on heightened alert after the weekend assault by Islamic extremists in Burkina Faso that killed 29 people.
The militants targeted a hotel and a restaurant frequented by foreigners in Ouagadougou on Friday night. They held more than 100 hostages at the hotel through Saturday. The military and French special forces carried out rescue operations.
The president of neighboring Benin, Thomas Boni Yayi, visited Burkina Faso and met President Roch Marc Kabore on Monday in a show of unity.
Yayi stressed that they don’t know where the next target will be, so they must fight against terrorism together.
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb has claimed responsibility for the attack. The group is based in the northern region of neighboring Mali.
The group was thought to have been weakened after French military intervention 3 years ago. But it has revived and is suspected of carrying out an attack at a hotel in Mali’s capital, Bamako, in November that killed 20 people
—————————
From : NHK WORLD News / Jan. 19, 2016 – Updated 09:06 UTC+7
Link : http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20160119_14.html
