W. Africa states to 'fight back' after Burkina attack: Benin

OUAGADOUGOU - West African nations will "fight back" after a Burkina Faso hotel attack that left 29 dead and showed jihadist fighters expanding their reach in the region, Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi said Monday.

"It's not merely Burkina that was hit, it's the entire sub-region, and we're not going to just sit on our hands. We will react and respond," said Boni Yayi as he flew into the capital Ouagadougou to show regional solidarity with the country.

"The question now is whose turn is it next," he added.

Friday's attack on a four-star hotel, which left at least 29 dead, half of them foreigners, came weeks after an attack on a luxury Mali hotel in Bamako claimed by Islamists that left 20 people dead.

"After events in Bamako and Burkina, everyone's become conscious of the need to take action. We will not take this sitting down," he said.

"The enemy is changing its strategy," he added, calling for emergency talks of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States.