Around 20 people have been killed in an attack by suspected Islamist militants on a hotel in the capital of Burkina Faso on Friday, according to the director of the university hospital who spoke to patients wounded in the attack.
The gunmen stormed the five-storey Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou's business district, burning cars outside and firing in the air to drive back crowds before security forces arrived, prompting an intense exchange of gunfire.
"We have received around 15 wounded people. There are people with bullet wounds and people who are injured because of falls," said Robert Sangare, director of Ouagadougou's university hospital centre.
Agencies are reporting a number of people have died at the scene, but no numbers have yet been confirmed. The upscale hotel and cafe is popular with Westerners and United Nations officials.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but the SITE Intel Group cited al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which claimed credit for the attack.
"There are many hostages from many nationalities in the hotel," Foreign Minister Alpha Barry said on France24. The attack "is reminiscent of a terrorist attack and jihadists" and follows an assault earlier in the day near the border with Mali and Niger that left at least two dead, he added.
The US Embassy in Ouagadougou said it is "closely following the situation downtown," while France Info reported that an Air France flight coming from Paris was diverted to neighbouring Niger.
"It is continuing at this time. We are trying to know how many attackers they are to better coordinate our actions," said a senior official with the national gendarmes who asked not to be named. "Hostages have been taken. The operation could take several hours."
A witness says he saw gunmen emerge from the hotel and fire into the air. A vehicle carrying security personnel arrived and shortly afterward an intense gun battle began.
"We had just opened and there were a few customers we started to serve when we heard gunshots ... There were three men shooting in the air," said Vital Nounayon, a waiter at a restaurant across the street from the hotel.