Tributes have poured in for a distinguished French-Moroccan photographer who become the latest victim of the terror attack, which struck the heart of Burkina Faso’s capital on Friday night.
Leila Alaoui, who was severely wounded by jihadi gunman in Ouagadougou, died from her injuries late on Monday, Morocco’s MAP news agency reported. The French culture minister, Fleur Pellerin, later confirmed the news on Twitter.
Bouleversée que #LeilaAlaoui, jeune et talentueuse photographe franco-marocaine, ait succombé ce soir à ses blessures à Ouagadougou.
— Fleur Pellerin (@fleurpellerin) January 18, 2016
The 33-year-old’s death pushed the toll to 30, after the attack in which masked gunmen stormed Ouagadougou’s Splendid hotel and the nearby Cappuccino cafe, as Alaoui and her driver Mahamadi Ouédraogo sat parked outside.
Both were shot multiple times and Ouédraogo, a Burkina Faso national, died at the scene.
The luxury hotel and its surrounding areas are popular with expats and foreign visitors. By Saturday morning 18 nationalities were counted among the dead. The al-Qaida-linked group Aqim claimed responsibility.
Alaoui, whose work had featured in the New York Times and Vogue, was in Burkina Faso on assignment for Amnesty International for a women’s rights photography project. The group released two of the pictures she was working on on Wednesday.
The rights group said they were devastated, describing Alaoui as a talented photographer. They said that their “absolute priority is to ensure the best possible support for Mahamadi and Leila’s families”.
Yves Boukari Traoré, the director of Amnesty in Burkina Faso, said: “Leila was an extraordinary young woman. We wanted to work with her because of her talent, and her passion for helping women, girls and marginalised people tell their own stories.
“Mahamadi was a dedicated, helpful and caring colleague. His death is a huge loss to us all,” he added.
Tributes
Pellerin tweeted that she was “shocked” at news of the death of Alaoui, whom she described as “young and talented”.
In a joint statement Jean-Luc Monterosso from the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris and Jack Lang, a former French culture minister said Alaoui was a champion of the dispossessed.
Dan Bilefsky of The New York Times wrote: “She was fighting to give life to those forgotten by society, to homeless people, to migrants, deploying one weapon: photography.”
The writer, Tahar Ben Jelloun, said on his blog that Alaoui was “a passionate artist who knew how to detect reality behind appearances, how to show the splendour of a body behind the veil of prejudice”.
#Hommage Décès de la photographe #LeilaAlaoui : "C’était une correspondante de paix." https://t.co/qbphHRHsQL pic.twitter.com/ToxzUwg8QY
— Institut monde arabe (@imarabe) January 19, 2016
As the news broke online, tributes started to pour in to Alaoui’s Instagram account: “I am beyond sad, what a loss!” said one. Another thanked her for previous work focusing on the lives of former Renault workers on the outskirts of Paris.
The mourning also extended to Twitter, where fans shared her work using the hashtag #LeilaAlaoui.
Rowena McNaughton, from the Danish refugee council, said Alaoui was “a talented lady who gave dignity to the voiceless”.
Sad news of death photographer #LeilaAlaoui. A talented lady who gave dignity to the voiceless @DRC_dk #humanrights pic.twitter.com/LnzHtK8zUH
— Rowena McNaughton (@rowmcnaughton) January 19, 2016
Search for Common Ground (SFCG), an organisation working with Syrian refugees in Lebanon tweeted that “through her lens she showed the lives of those at the margins, with her videos she gave voice to those who are not heard”.
Through her lens she showed the lives of those at the margins, with her videos she gave voice to those who are not heard... #LeilaAlaoui
— SFCG Lebanon (@SFCG_Lebanon) January 20, 2016
”Your legacy will continue to inspire the Syrian, Palestinian and Lebanese youth who put their stories in your capable hands,” it added.
On Facebook people left messages of condolences on her official page. “Last Sunday I discovered with enthusiasm the work of Leila Alaoui ... how sad to learn today of her death,” said Gret Kaplan.
“All my thoughts to her family. I discovered the work of Leila only Friday, with [her] video of testimonials of migrants ... I don’t have the words to say what I feel other than an injustice and a terrible anger,” added Laure Kalangel.
Alaoui had previously worked with the UN’s refugee agency, among other development organisations, to “humanise refugees with photos”.
Remembering the life and work of Leila Alaoui, photographer and friend to @ILO. https://t.co/hGX3yKRUBg #Ouagadougou pic.twitter.com/EPLrxX6g79
— ILO (@ilo) January 19, 2016
Alaoui’s website explains that her work expresses “social realities using a visual language that combines the narrative depth of documentary storytelling and the aesthetic sensibilities of fine art”.
The target
According to the Daily Maverick, there are a number of reasons why Burkina Faso has become the latest west African country to fall victim to al-Qaida.
It is also a warning to France that their counter-terror Operation Barkhane is failing; a message to Burkina Faso that it now falls in the group’s expanding regional purview, and a reminder to rival group Islamic State that Aqim is force to be reckoned with, it added.
French and Burkinabé forces worked together to free 150 hostages from the attacks on Friday night, with the two countries later pledging to share intelligence in a bid to combat Islamic militancy.
Meanwhile, militants are still thought to be holding the Australian couple, Ken and Jocelyn Elliot, who were kidnapped from their Friends of Burkina Faso medical clinic in Djibo in the north of the country.
The couple, both in their 80s, were reported to have been taken over the border to Mali, also by a branch of Aqim. While it’s unclear whether the attacks were directly linked, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have advised against all travel to the north of the country.
