OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — A 15-hour standoff between armed assailants and security forces in a hotel and cafe here frequented by Westerners came to an end Saturday morning, with 26 people dead and dozens more wounded. At least three assailants were killed and 126 hostages were freed in the operation to retake the hotel.
Gunfire raged through the night as armed forces from Burkina Faso, assisted by French and U.S. forces, stormed the popular downtown area near the Splendid Hotel and Cappuccino Cafe where attackers suspected of belonging to an affiliate of al-Qaida had set off explosives and shot hotel guests and people out for coffee; the victims were from a total of 18 nations.
At a news conference in front of the presidential palace here, Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba said the attacks downtown were part of a coordinated rampage that militants had begun throughout the country. Early Friday, near the Malian border, a police convoy was attacked, killing a civilian and a police officer. Next, near the northern town of Djibo, an Australian doctor and his wife were kidnapped, and their whereabouts were still unknown.
It was unclear Saturday how many people were responsible for the hotel attack. Thieba said there were three assailants. Witnesses reported seeing a woman among the attackers, but Thieba could not confirm that.
Thieba appealed to the nation to stay vigilant to help the security forces neutralize what he said could be sleeper cells of terrorists waiting to carry out more attacks in this country, which has been largely free of violence tied to radical Islam.
"These attacks aim to threaten our liberty and harm innocent civilians," he said, calling for flags to be lowered for three days in memory of the victims. "We need to track the terrorists whose goal is to threaten democracy and who want to bring chaos to this country."
The chaos that erupted Friday night in Ouagadougou, the capital, was an affront to everyday life in this bustling city.
"It's shocking," said Alexandre Sanfo, the general director of Blaise Compaoré Hospital, which treated dozens of the more than 56 people wounded in the attack.
Sanfo said the nation was known for its religious tolerance and its warm welcome to foreigners.
"I'm afraid now that people will be suspicious of each other, especially of Muslims," he said.