OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) – The United Nations secretary-general said Thursday he is deeply concerned by attacks by Islamic extremists in Burkina Faso and West Africa, urging a global response.
Ban Ki-moon spoke after meeting with Burkina Faso’s president in the capital, Ouagadougou. Extremists in January attacked a cafe and hotel here, killing at least 30 people in the first such attack in the capital. The violence closely mirrored the siege of an upscale hotel in Bamako, Mali in November that killed 20 people.
“The response to terrorism must be global and conducted in strict compliance with human rights and international humanitarian law,” Ban said, expressing condolences to the families of the victims of the attack.
Burkina Faso is a part of a group of five countries working together to combat extremist violence in the Sahel, the region below the Sahara Desert.
“The Sahel countries need to focus on the root causes of instability: poverty, unemployment, social exclusion, discrimination and impunity,” he said.