The six Canadians killed in a terror attack in Burkina Faso have all been identified as Quebecers according to reports.
Yves Carrier, his daughter Maude, his wife Gladys Chamberland, their son Charlelie, and two of their friends, Louis Chabot and Suzanne Bernier, were all killed during a hostage situation at a popular hotel in Ouagadougou Friday night, Montreal newspaper La Presse reports.
The Carrier family was on a humanitarian mission with the Congrégation des sœurs de Notre-Dame du Perpétuel Secours, a worldwide religious organization that aims to help the poor or anyone in need.
READ MORE: 3 days of mourning begins in Burkina Faso
A representative for the organization confirmed to Global News that it was the family’s final day in the country, and they were due to return to Canada on Saturday after three weeks in Africa.
To celebrate, they went to a popular café at a luxury hotel. It was then that four jihadist attackers linked to al-Qaida stormed the hotel and killed at least 28 people, including the six Quebecers.
Canada has condemned the attack, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
“On behalf of all Canadians, we offer our deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of all those killed and a speedy recovery to all those injured. We are deeply saddened by these senseless acts of violence on innocent civilians,” Trudeau said in a statement on Saturday.
Speaking at a restored mosque on Sunday, Trudeau led a moment of silence for the victims.
“It’s sad, especially seeing these people were there for a short time just to help people,” said Mylene Otis, coordinator for Oxfam in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. “It’s deplorable.”
Oxfam Quebec has over a dozen staffers working in the West African country. They were all confirmed to be safe after this weekend’s attack.
The attack was launched by the same extremists behind a similar siege at an upscale hotel in Bamako, Mali in November that left 20 dead.
An al-Qaida affiliate known as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility online as the attack was ongoing in downtown Ouagadougou at the 147-room hotel, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.
With files from The Canadian Press and Global’s Sarah Volstad.
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