Burkina Faso: Province mourns 6 Quebecers killed in hotel siege

Reactions to the deaths of six Quebecers, killed during a 12-hour siege at a luxury hotel in Burkina Faso, have begun to roll in from the victims' home province.

At least 28 people from 18 different countries died Friday when fourjihadistattackers linked toal-Qaedastormed the Splendid Hotel and nearby CappuccinoCaf in the capital of Ouagadougou.

All of the Canadians killed were from Quebec.

The federal government has not released details onthe Quebec victims, but says Canadian officials are assisting thefamiliesaffected by theattack.

Though there are few details on the victims,politicians, organizations, and the Burkinabe community in Quebec areoffering condolences to the families of the victims.

Humanitarian workers among the dead

Though the federal government said thatCanadian aid workers and volunteers were among the victims, no organization has confirmed the death of a Quebecer among their staff.

Oxfam Qubec, which has an office in the Burkina Faso capital, took to Twitter to confirm all its staff were safe.

Atweet from Jean Brouillard, a communications specialist in Qubec City, said two of his friends who were on humanitarian missions were killed, along with their children.

Politicians:'Quebec is in shock'

"I think all of Quebec is in shock right now," said Christine St-Pierre, Quebec's minister of international relations.

"It's a shock because every day we see what is happening abroad. There are attacks and terrorism. Today we see that theyare Quebecers. Our condolences to the families andto the friends of those [victims]."

Quebec Premier PhilippeCouillarddenouncedFriday's attacks, saying that nothing could explain the cowardly acts.

Burkinabe in Montreal:'It could happen to me'

"It could happen to me," saidAzizDabon,President of the Burkinabe Association of Greater Montreal, who returned from Burkina Faso four days ago.

Dabonsaid he wasina cafabout 30 metres away from the Splendid Hotel just last week.

Reacting to reports that the six victims were humanitarian workers, Dabon said it was a loss for his country.

"It's really sad, you know, because we really need this kind of help for our country we're a poor country. So it's really sad for us and it's really sad for families of all the people thatdied."

Burkina Faso diplomat:Quebecers 'paid the price'

"I mourn the death of all the victims of this senseless act of terrorism." saidGrardCoulombe, Burkina Faso's honorary consul of Burkina Faso to Montreal, "with a special thought for my Quebec compatriots who never cease to support Burkina Faso's progress and who paidthe price for it today"

Coulombeadded that Burkina Faso's recently elected presidentand prime minister would do "everything in their power to combat the terroristsresponsiblefor this despicable attack and ensure the safety of all persons living or sojourning in Ouagadougou or elsewhere in [Burkina Faso]."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement strongly condemning the attack..

"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," he said.

Some of the other victims:

American missionary Mike Riddering, 45, was among those killed in the attacks. He was from Cooper City, Fla., and was in the Ouagadougou when gunmen entered the cafe and opened fire.

He leaves behind four children, two of whom were adopted from Burkina Faso.

A 67-year-old Dutch man was also killed in the cafe. Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders confirmed the news late Saturday but gave no further details.