Spanish air force personnel carry one of three coffins at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base, on April 30, 2021.The bodies of two Spanish journalists and an Irish wildlife campaigner killed by jihadists in Burkina Faso this week while they were filming a documentary on poaching were flown home Friday as several European countries vowed to keep fighting extremism in Africa’s Sahel region.
“It’s a sad day,” Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said following a brief ceremony on the tarmac. “David and Roberto went to lengths to give voice to those who don’t have them, to make visible hard realities surrounding us and to strengthen democracy.” Two soldiers wounded in the attack said they tried to protect the foreigners during fighting that lasted three hours, but were outnumbered by the jihadists. One foreign worker of the wildlife foundation did survive, the soldiers told The Associated Press insisting on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
“The area is one of enormous turbulence, with great geostrategic risks for our country,” said Gonzalez Laya.