Two Canadians killed in an attack on an upscale Turkish restaurant in Burkina Faso have been identified.

The federal government identified Tammy Chen from Ontario as one of the victims, and a Quebec anti-poverty group said one of its volunteers, Bilel Diffalah, was also killed in the shooting.

Suspected Islamic extremists opened fire on crowds dining at a restaurant popular with tourists in the West African country’s capital Ouagadougou on Sunday evening.

Chen’s family asked for privacy, but confirmed to CTV Toronto that she had been working as a teacher in Burkina Faso.

The Hamilton, Ont.-born and Montreal-raised Chen had also previously worked as a French teacher in Toronto. She was newly married and pregnant, CTV Toronto’s Natalie Johnson reported Monday.

“We appreciate all those who have reached out to us in this terrible time and ask that our privacy please be respected,” Chen’s family said in a statement.

Chen was eating dinner with her husband, Senagalese citizen Mehsen Fenaiche, at the upscale Aziz Istanbul, the same restaurant where the pair first met two years ago.

“They were the perfect couple,” said Fenaiche’s older brother, who recalled Chen as someone who loved to laugh.

When two gunmen jumped off motorbikes and randomly opened fire on the terrace, both Chen and Fenaiche were shot dead.

The federal government said it would not confirm the identity of the second victim out of respect for the family.

But Odette McCarthy, the president of the Montreal-based Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), said Diffalah volunteered as an adviser on hygiene and biosecurity with the group.

“He had a very strong background in veterinary science,” she told CTV News Channel. “He was working with a local organization, an inter-professional poultry organization that is very keen to improve quality control to protect the livestock, and improve the quality and quantity of poultry in Burkina Faso.”

Diffalah had been a volunteer since November 2016 with Uniterra, a joint program between CECI and World University Service of Canada (WUSC). McCarthy recently spent time with him on a field visit in May.

“It is very tragic, and we are very saddened by this loss,” she said. “He was very sociable, very engaged, and very determined to co-construct solutions.”

Fatimata Lankoande, a program co-ordinator in Burkina Faso, described Diffalah as a “very dedicated volunteer” who was respected by his colleagues.

“In our experience, he had always shown exemplary behaviour as a Canadian volunteering overseas," Lankoande said in a statement.

All other volunteers in Burkina Faso with WUSC and CECI have been accounted for, the groups confirmed.

The groups say they regularly monitor safety concerns in Burkina Faso and issue security updates for volunteers. The situation in the country was considered stable for the past several months, and the alert level was only raised a few times in the past year and a half.

No special official warning had been issued over the weekend when the attack occurred.

Earlier Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland confirmed the deaths of two Canadians in the Burkina Faso attack.

“My heartfelt condolences, the heartfelt condolences of our government go out to the loved ones of those targeted and the victims of this tragic attack,” Freeland told reporters.

Eighteen people died and at least eight others were wounded in the attack, according to Communications Minister and government spokesperson Remy Danguinou. He said the dead were “mainly children and women.”

The victims are of several different nationalities, including two Kuwaitis and one person each from France, Senegal, Nigeria, Lebanon and Turkey, the foreign ministry said. Seven citizens from Burkina Faso were also killed in the attack.

Authorities said three other victims had yet to be identified.

In a statement emailed to CTV News, Global Affairs Canada said they were reaching out to Canadian citizens in the area and were “ready to provide consular assistance as required.” They also advised Canadians in a tweet on Monday to avoid the affected area in Ouagadougou and to follow the instructions of local authorities.

On its website, Global Affairs Canada urges Canadians to avoid “all travel” to the northern area of Burkina Faso and its border with Mali as well as the W National Park.

The country’s special forces eventually ended the violence after a gun battle that lasted well into the early hours of Monday morning. Two of the assailants were killed by security forces, Danguinou said.

At least three members of Burkina Faso’s security forces were injured during the nearly seven-hour fight, said Capt. Guy Ye, a spokesperson for the security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the violence.

The assault is reminiscent of a January 2016 attack at another café frequented by foreigners that left 30 people dead. That attack was claimed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and a jihadist group called Al Mourabitoun.

With files from The Associated Press