An American missionary is among those killed in an attack carried out by al-Qaeda militants in a hotel and café in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou.
The mother in law of the American confirmed that the missionary was killed in the attack that left at least 28 people dead.
Carol Boyle said Michael Riddering, 45, died in the Cappuccino Café, where he was set to meet a group that was going to volunteer at an orphanage and women’s crisis centre he ran with his wife, Amy Boyle-Riddering.
According to Boyle, the missionary arrived early and was in the café with a pastor, and when the attack was launched, they ran in different directions.
“He was extremely well-loved and respected. He wasn’t a hypocrite, he wasn’t a two-face. He had his guiding light, and he followed it,” Boyle said by phone from her home in Weston.
At least 28 people died in the attack by fighters, which triggered a siege lasting more than 12 hours. The dead, which included victims from 18 different countries, included the wife and young daughter of the Italian cafe owner, two French citizens, two Swiss citizens, and six Canadians
