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Grand-Bassam shootings

On 13 March 2016, three gunmen opened fire at a beach on Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast. They attacked the Étoile du Sud hotel which was occupied at the time.[1] 19 people were killed. Thirty-three people were injured.[2][3][4]

Grand-Bassam shootings
Grand-Bassam shootings
The beach targeted, pictured in 2008
Location Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast
Date 13 March 2016
Attack type Mass murder, mass shooting
Weapon(s) Assault rifles
Hand grenades
Deaths 16 civilians and 3 special forces members
(+3 attackers)
Injured 33

It had been the third attack on a tourism resort in West Africa for four months.[5][6]

Attack

The attack started when three armed assailants attacked the Étoile du Sud hotel.[7] Agence France-Presse writes that it was occupied by numerous expatriates at the time.[8] According to officials, 15 civilians and three special forces soldiers were killed.[9] The attackers were described as Africans. The had grenade belts and Kalashnikov rifles. They were dressed in casual clothes and balaclavas.[10]

A shootout started between the attackers and police when the assailants reached the La Paillote Hotel. Army personnel evacuated local residents and tourists from the beach to nearby hotels.[11] The hotels were placed on lockdown by that time.[12]

Government officials as said that security forces had killed six armed men.[13][14] The terrorists shouted "Allahu Akbar".[15]

An American embassy delegation was at Grand-Bassam on the date of the attack. But the US Embassy in Abidjan said on Twitter that there is "no evidence that U.S. citizens were targeted".[16][17] French authorities had warned Ivory Coast and Senegal weeks earlier of the danger of a terrorist attack.[18]

After the attack

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and al-Mourabitoun claimed responsibility for the attack.[19] AQIM released the names of the attackers: Hamza al-Fulani and Abu Adam al-Ansari from al-Mourabitoun and Abderrahmane al-Fulani from the "Emirate of the Desert" on 17 March.[20]

Reactions

Domestic

  • President Alassane Ouattara: "These cowardly attacks by terrorists will not be tolerated".[21]

International

  •   Canada: Global Affairs Canada: "Canada condemns the terrorist attack at Grand-Bassam beach resort in Côte d'Ivoire. Our thoughts and prayers are with you." [22]
  •   India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished the injured a speedy recovery.[23][24]
  •   United Kingdom: Prime Minister David Cameron stated on Twitter: "I'm appalled by the devastating terror attacks in Ankara and the Ivory Coast. My thoughts are with all those affected."[25]
  •   United States: In a statement by the National Security Council of the White House, the U.S. condemned the terrorist attack in Grand-Bassam. t also commended "the bravery of the Ivorian and French security personnel who responded to the situation and prevented even worse loss of life."[26]

References

  1. ↑ "Ivory Coast: Shooting at Grand Bassam beach". BBC News. Retrieved Mar 19, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Death toll in Ivory Coast militant attack rises to 18: government". Reuters Editorial. 14 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Ivory Coast hotel shooting: Gunmen 'kill 15 including four Europeans' in Grand Bassam beach resort". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 Mar 2016.
  4. ↑ "Ivory Coast Hotel Shooting: 12 Dead – Reports". Sky News. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 13 Mar 2016.
  5. ↑ "Al-Qaeda claims deadly Ivory Coast attack". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  6. ↑ Coulibaly, Loucoumane; Searcey, Dionne (2016-03-13). "16 Killed in Terrorist Attack on Resort Hotels in Ivory Coast" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/14/world/africa/gunmen-carry-out-fatal-attacks-at-resorts-in-ivory-coast.html. Retrieved 2021-11-04. 
  7. ↑ "Gunmen open fire in Ivory Coast tourist resort". The Guardian. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Ivory Coast: Shooting at Grand Bassam beach resort". BBC News. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "18 killed in attack on Ivory Coast hotels". CNN. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Ivory Coast hotel shooting: Gunmen 'kill 15 including four Europeans' in Grand Bassam beach resort". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  11. ↑ "Gunmen Killed 14 People at a Beach Resort in Ivory Coast on Sunday". VICE News. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Statement by Spokesperson Ned Price on the Terrorist Attack". White House. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved Mar 19, 2016.
  13. ↑ "The Latest: Ivory Coast Says 6 Beach Attackers 'Neutralized'". ABC News. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "Ivory Coast's government says that security forces have neutralized six armed men who staged attacks on three hotels in the historic town of Grand-Bassam". US News & World Report. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Ivory Coast hotel shooting: Gunmen 'kill 12 including four Europeans' in Grand Bassam beach resort". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "12 people reportedly dead in gun attack on Ivory Coast beach resort popular with Western tourists". The Independent. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "U.S. Embassy Abidjan on Twitter". Retrieved 13 March 2016 – via Twitter.[non-primary source needed]
  18. ↑ Coulibaly, Loucoumane; Searcey, Dionne (2016-03-13). "16 Killed in Terrorist Attack on Resort Hotels in Ivory Coast (Published 2016)" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/14/world/africa/gunmen-carry-out-fatal-attacks-at-resorts-in-ivory-coast.html. Retrieved 2021-03-05. 
  19. ↑ Mieu, Baudelaire (13 March 2016). "Al-Qaeda Claims Ivory Coast Attack With at Least 16 Killed". Bloomberg Business. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-13/ivory-coast-beach-hotel-attack-said-to-leave-two-dead. Retrieved 13 March 2016. 
  20. ↑ "AQIM releases Grand-Bassam attackers' photos". StarAfrica. 17 March 2016. http://en.starafrica.com/news/aqim-releases-grand-bassam-attackers-photos.html. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  21. ↑ "Ivory Coast steps up security following jihadist attack". BBC News. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  22. ↑ "Foreign Policy CAN on Twitter". Retrieved 15 March 2016 – via Twitter.[non-primary source needed]
  23. ↑ "Narendra Modi on Twitter" – via Twitter.[non-primary source needed]
  24. ↑ "PM Modi condemns multiple terror attacks in Ivory Coast, Ankara". The Times of India. 14 March 2016.
  25. ↑ "David Cameron on Twitter". Retrieved 15 March 2016 – via Twitter.[non-primary source needed]
  26. ↑ "Statement by NSC Spokesperson Ned Price on the Terrorist Attack in Côte d'Ivoire". White House. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
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