BURKINA FASO: 126 Hostages Rescued,Three Militants Killed At Splendid Hotel Attack

Flames can be seen near the Splendid Hotel.
Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/afp/2016/01/16/07/54/shots-explosions-heard-from-major-ouagadougou-hotel-afp#HSX13YmWq3eFr3uQ.99

A total of 126 people have been freed and three jihadists killed following an assault by security forces on the Burkina Faso hotel and restaurant that were attacked by Al-Qaeda-linked gunmen.

The country’s interior minister said another assault was now ongoing at another hotel.

"One hundred and twenty six people including 33 wounded have been freed," Simon Compaore said

“Three jihadists an Arab and two black Africans were killed.

"The attacks on the Splendid Hotel and the Cappuccino (restaurant opposite) are over. But an assault of is ongoing at the Hotel Ybi next to the Cappuccino.”

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has claimed responsibility for the hotel attack, which killed at least 20.

Earlier, security forces surrounded the Splendid Hotel ready to retake the building, which is frequented by westerners, the country's foreign minister Alpha Barry said in a telephone interview.

Following a firefight, they were able to initially recover 63 hostages, including the wounded.

"There are some dead but we don't have the numbers. The assault is ongoing with the Burkinabe forces supported by French special forces," communication minister Remis Dandjinou said, adding that among those rescued was labour minister Clement Sawadogo.

The Cappuccino Splendid cafe-restaurant opposite the hotel, also popular with westerners, was also targeted in the terror attack.

Medical personnel moved wounded away from the front of the hotel.

A US defence official said France had requested US intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance support in the city and at least one US military member in Burkina Faso was giving "advice and assistance" to French forces at the hotel.

The government has not ruled out calling for help from French special forces stationed in the country, Mr Barry said in a telephone interview.

The assault in Ouagadougou began mid-evening and by 11pm (2300 GMT) the sounds of gunfire and explosions had died down.

"For the dead, we do not have a precise figure, but there are at least 20 dead," said Robert Sangare, the head of Yalgado Ouedraogo hospital.

"We have had at least 15 wounded with bullet wounds and others who suffered injuries during the panic to escape."

Dr Sangare said one European woman being treated at the hospital told him the attackers appeared to target white people.

The hotel is sometimes used by French troops with Operation Barkhane, a force based in Chad and set up to combat Islamist militants across West Africa's vast, arid Sahel region.

This is the first time Islamist militants have carried out an assault in the capital of Burkina Faso.

The attack comes less than two months after a jihadist attack at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the Malian capital Bamako on November 20 in which 20 people died including 14 foreigners.

Last month Burkina Faso swore in Roch Marc Christian Kabore as president, completing the troubled West African state's transition after the overthrow of its longtime ruler, Blaise Compaore in 2014 and a failed coup attempt in September.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in October 2014 when Compaore sought to extend his rule, forcing him to step down after ruling the poor, landlocked country with an iron fist for 27 years.

Kabore, 58, becomes only the third civilian president of the nine who have held power since the country's independence from France in 1960.

ALGERIA: Algerian Tourism Has Great Potential

The Algeria’s beleaguered tourism sector is in a kind of paradox situation. On one hand, we notice decline in tourist arrivals due to perceived risk of terrorist attacks, deficit in accommodation capacity, lack of knowledge in hospitality and restaurants, deficit in market, soviet-style bureaucratic visa requirements and lack of tourism infrastructure. On the other hand, we find a lucrative and attractive sector driven by ambitious tourism plans, government investments and foreign collaborations and partnerships.

The Algerian government and the private sector were slow to react to changes in the tourism markets. Very few professional bodies have been involved in the animation of this vital economic niche to enhance stronger coordination of actions at both regional and local levels.

Challenges to Algeria’s Tourism

The main challenge to the country’s tourism sector is insecurity, characterized by instability and constant threat of violence. Whereas the country is generally peaceful and safe, certain areas are still susceptible to Islamic extremists groups. The mountainous region of Kabylia, including the provinces of Bouira, Bejaia, Tizi Ouzou and Boumerdes, are still under risk of threat of terrorism and civil unrest, which takes on the form of banditry, drug trafficking, kidnapping, and attacks on government targets.

Terrorism still takes on a high media profile. Renewed violence and increasing presence of Islamic State and Algeria’s role in Libya add further pressure on the government and to the crisis facing the country’s vital tourism sector. The national government however has moved swiftly to assure all tourists of maximum protection throughout the country.

Despite the fact that tourism in Algeria still contributes a paltry 1% of the country’s GDP, the country has paved way to reach new heights in its tourism sector. The first approach was the establishment of a National Tourism Development Plan (Schema Directeur d’Amenagement Touristique, SDAT) in 2008 whose main aim is to increase the sector revenue from the current annual average of $445.2 million to at least $621.2 by the end of 2015. Under the same plan international tourist arrivals are expected to rise to 3.1 million by 2023 from the 2.6 million estimated to have visited the country, helping generate Algerian Dinar (DZD) 27.9 billion in revenues in 2013.

The Algerian government, in collaboration with the World Tourism Organization, has set the goal of boosting the number of foreign investors, including tourists by utilizing the potential opportunity involving adventure holidays in the south. Additionally, seven tourism centers are currently being constructed – three in the north (north-east, north-central and north-west) and four in the south (south-east, south-west, Tassili and Hoggar).

It is worth noting that Algeria sits on tremendous tourism potential, comprising of rich and diversified natural resources and historic sites, which to date are yet to be largely realized. However, through the NTDP, the country is planning to make the sector a motor for development, diversifying the economy, attracting foreign tourists and direct investment and simulating employment. Some of the identified potential tourist destinations include the unspoiled mountains, spectacular deserts and the long Mediterranean coastline.

Plans for the Future

"The Algerian authorities have ambitious plans to launch the tourism sector, aiming to raise the accommodation capacity from 90,000 beds to 160,000 beds in three years," Tourism Minister Smail Mimoune said during a regional tourism conference on the Tunisian island of Djerba. He continued, "We aim to receive 3.5 million tourists (per year) in three years and hope that income from the sector rises to $600 million in the same period."

Mr. Mimoune said that the tourism sector’s direct contribution to GDP is estimated to register a CAGR of 4.2% to DZD848.4 million (3.8% of GDP) in 2023 from DZD539.7 million (3.7% of GDP) in 2012. He also said that the Islamic extremists – the infamous al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) operating in the country did not pose a threat to these plans, as they do not have any strongholds within Algeria, but operate from neighboring northern Mali.