Exchanges of gunfire at restaurant opposite Ouagadougou hotel

Exchanges of gunfire between security forces and jihadists could be heard around 6:40 local time (GMT) Saturday at a restaurant opposite the Ouagadougou hotel where gunmen launched an assault that has left at least 20 people dead, an AFP journalist reported.

The exchanges, along with small explosions, suggested the Al Qaeda linked assailants separated into two groups at some point, one which attacked the four-star Splendid hotel and the other the Cappuccino restaurant opposite.

Burkina Faso's Interior Minister Simon Campaore said during the night that firefighters had seen 10 bodies on the terrace of the restaurant.