Burkina Faso: Two jailed for life over 2017 restaurant attack

A court in Burkina Faso has sentenced two people to life in prison over a deadly 2017 attack on a Turkish restaurant in the capital that killed 19 people, officials said.

Two gunmen opened fire at the Aziz Istanbul restaurant on Ouagadougou’s main avenue in August 2017.

No claim of responsibility was made for the attack,

The victims included 10 Burkinabes and nine foreigners.

The restaurant was just 200 metres from a hotel and cafe targeted in an assault in January 2016 that left 30 people dead and 71 wounded.

In March 2018, simultaneous attacks also targeted the army headquarters and the French embassy, killing eight Burkinabe soldiers.

Burkina Faso has been battling a surge of attacks by jihadist armed groups.

Nearly two million of its citizens have been forced from their homes by the conflict.