Summary

  • Explosions and gunfire broke out in Ouagadougou on morning of Friday 2 March

  • Army headquarters and French embassy targeted

  • Government says attackers killed seven from security forces

  • Six attackers were shot dead

  • Witnesses heard attackers shout Allahu Akbar

  • No group has said they are behind the attack

  • It is third major attack in Ouagadougou in just over two years

  1. Scroll down for details of the Burkina Faso attackpublished at 17:32 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    We'll be back next week

    That's all from us on the live page following the attack in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou.

    To keep up-to-date, check the BBC News website.

    Here's where we are leaving this story:

    The latest government statement says, external unidentified armed men attacked the French embassy, the French cultural centre and the army headquarters.

    It adds that six attackers were shot dead and seven people from the security forces were killed.

    Security sources told AFP news agency that the death toll was much higher.

    The explosions turned the sky black this morning:

    Ouagadougou on 2 March 2018Image source, Getty Images
  2. 'Two attackers arrested'published at 17:16 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    Two attackers have been arrested at the army headquarters in Ouagadougou, security services told Jeune Afrique, external.

    Attackers targeted the army headquarters and the French embassy in the capital of Burkina Faso this morning.

  3. Analysis: Attack was expectedpublished at 17:00 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    Lamine Konkobo
    BBC Africa

    There have been rumours of an attack on Burkina Faso for some time, which even prompted a recent reshuffle of the security forces.

    But this is far bigger than most people had expected.

    An attack on the military headquarters strikes at the heart of Burkina Faso's security establishment. While the French embassy is normally one of the safest places in the capital.

    Since Emmanuel Macron came to power, France has been trying to mobilise its former colonies in West Africa, and the United Nations, to tackle the Islamist militant groups which operate in the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert.

    But so far, progress has been slow.

    This attack may concentrate some people's minds.

    Macron and RocheImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Macron and Kabore discussed security in the Sahel at a conference in Brussels last month

  4. AU chief condemns attackpublished at 16:37 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    The chairman of the African Union Commision Moussa Faki Mahamat has tweeted his condemnation of the "terrorist" attack in Burkina Faso's capital.

    He tweets in French:

    "I strongly condemn the terrorist attacks that took place today in Ouagadougou. All my thoughts in solidarity with the people and the Government of Burkina Faso in these difficult circumstances."

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    He goes on to say in a follow up tweet that the attacks are "a new illustration of the prevalence of the scourge of terrorism in the Sahel, as well as the urgency of more sustained international action in support of the efforts of the countries of the region".

  5. Government calls for calmpublished at 16:29 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    The special adviser to Burkina Faso's president Roch Kabore tweets that Mr Kabore is in a meeting with the chief of staff of the army.

    He adds that the president is monitoring the situation and promises to make an official statement later.

    The government calls for the population to be calm:

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  6. French and Burkinabe presidents discuss attackpublished at 16:18 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    The special advisor to Burkina Faso's president, Roch Kabore, tweets that Mr Kabore and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have discussed this morning's attack in Ouagadougou over the phone:

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  7. Politicians visit woundedpublished at 16:14 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    A tweeter has posted a picture of a "government delegation" visiting the national stadium in Ouagadougou which has been opened up to treat the people wounded in this morning's attack:

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  8. Blue skies and clear roads in Ouagadougoupublished at 16:10 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    A Burkinable blogger tweets the scene is now clear opposite the French embassy which was attacked earlier today:

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    It's a big difference from the whole sky filled with black smoke after the explosions in the city this morning.

  9. Shops shut for fear of lootingpublished at 15:53 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    Although the situation is now calmer in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou businesses are afraid to re-open, Samuel Kabore, who lives in the city, told Focus on Africa.

    He said money-related businesses where he was are closed:

    “Money changers all closed for fear that people may come and loot”.

  10. 'At least 28 killed'published at 15:45 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    The AFP news agency is reporting that the number of those killed in the attack at the army headquarters in Burkina Faso's capital is much higher than earlier reports.

    It quotes French and African security sources saying 28 people were killed in the attack.

  11. 'Attackers killed seven'published at 15:28 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    We reported earlier that Burkina Faso's Information Minister Remis Fulgance Dandjinou said on State TV that there were no known civilian causalities but "a certain number of gendarmes and soldiers" had been wounded.

    We can now add that he that the unidentified assailants killed five people at the military headquarters and two gendarmes at the French embassy, Reuters news agency.

  12. Taking coverpublished at 15:13 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    The Reuters news agency has shared this photo of two men taking cover during the attack at the military headquarters in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou.

    Soldiers taking coverImage source, Reuters

  13. 'No known civilian causalities'published at 14:58 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    Burkina Faso's Information Minister Remis Fulgance Dandjinou has told the state broadcaster RTB that there were no known civilian causalities.

    He however said "a certain number of gendarmes and soldiers" had been wounded.

    He added that the attack "has strong overtones of terrorism".

    The government has said that six gunmen were killed in the attack that targeted the French embassy and the country's military headquarters.

  14. 'Special forces still active'published at 14:39 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    An elite unit of the Burkinabe army is still active at the scenes of multiple attacks in the capital Ouagadougou by armed assailants, according to a government statement, French news site Le Monde reports.

    It adds that a journalist has reported "sporadic fighting was still being heard".

  15. 'At least four attackers killed' says policepublished at 14:25 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    The police service in Burkina Faso has posted on Facebook that at least four assailants involved in attacks in the capital Ouagadougou have been killed:

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    Various reports suggest that four attackers have been killed at the French embassy and three have been killed at the army headquarters.

    It is still unknown how many civilians have died.

    The police add in their Facebook post that the stadium in the city has been opened to take care of the wounded.

  16. Targets 2km apartpublished at 14:01 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    A tweeter shows how close the two main targets of the attacks in Ouagadougou are.

    He says there is less than 2km between the Armed Forces headquarters and the French embassy:

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  17. Civilian casualties still unknownpublished at 13:21 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    A Burkinabe government statement has said that there are still no details on civilian casualties of the attack in the centre of Ouagadougou, reports Reuters news agency.

  18. Situation 'under control'published at 13:11 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    The AFP news agency is quoting French government sources saying that the situation at their buildings in Ouagadougou is "under control".

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  19. Four attackers 'neutralised'published at 13:07 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    A government statement says, external four assailant have been "neturalised" in the unfolding attack in Burkina Faso's capital.

    Neutralised is a word often used by the military to mean "killed" but it is not clear if this is what has happened.

    French news site Le Monde Afrique is quoting a source inside the French embassy in Ouagadougou saying five gunmen had tried to enter the embassy but they failed.

    The news site had earlier reported that the French embassy had walked back its statement that it had been a target of the attack.

  20. Defence minister: it's a terrorist attackpublished at 12:56 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2018

    It is still not clear who is behind the attack on Ouagadougou.

    But some people have started calling it a terrorist attack.

    Burkina Faso's Defence Minister Jean-Claude Bouda has said it is a "terrorist attack on the staff, and the embassy of France," news site Jeune Afrique reports.

    But the French embassy themselves have come out to say they are not being targeted.

    In addition police boss Jean Bosco Kienou told Associated Press news agency that events in the capital were "in the form of a terrorist attack".