On January 18, 2016 there was a terrorist attack on the Splendid Hotel in a coffee shop in Burkina Faso’s capital of Ouagadougou.
Thirty people were killed and at least 56 more were wounded. There were 176 hostages who were eventually released by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, who took responsibility for the terror.
Despite a minor incident in October 2015 that coincided with a presidential election, Burkina Faso had historically been one of the safest countries in western Africa. The country has gained some popularity in the past few years as being a quality hunting destination where buffalo and roan hunts could be had for a fraction of the cost in southern and eastern Africa. For these reasons, I put together a small group of American hunters to go on a short 7-day safari to the southeastern part of the country, but since we were scheduled to leave less than two weeks after the Ouagadougou attack, we all considered canceling the hunt.
After talking to our contacts in Burkina Faso and a phone conversation I had with the US Embassy there, we finally decided to go ahead with the trip. We were a group of five experienced African travellers (and my African first-timer cameraman, Lee), so we felt we could use our past experience and common sense and be OK.
I was filming for the new Cabela’s TV show INSTINCT; Expedition series, so Lee and I went a day before the other guys to get a bit of footage of Ouagadougou and the surrounding area. We did drive by the Splendid Hotel, and the carnage was bad.
Everyone arrived the next day, and Air France had left Russell Marshall’s and Jay Cohea’s rifles in Paris. They would show up two days late to camp, but it really didn’t matter.
Bu hikaye The African Hunter dergisinin Issue 107 - October/November 2016 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The African Hunter dergisinin Issue 107 - October/November 2016 sayısından alınmıştır.
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