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 |
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 526: Unable to find the specified location map definition: "Module:Location map/data/Ivory Coast" does not exist. 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]
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
- ↑ Ivory Coast: Shooting at Grand Bassam beach. BBC News. Retrieved Mar 19, 2016.
- ↑ Death toll in Ivory Coast militant attack rises to 18: government (14 March 2016).
- ↑ Ivory Coast hotel shooting: Gunmen 'kill 15 including four Europeans' in Grand Bassam beach resort. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 Mar 2016.
- ↑ Ivory Coast Hotel Shooting: 12 Dead – Reports (13 March 2016)Sky News. Retrieved 13 Mar 2016.
- ↑ Al-Qaeda claims deadly Ivory Coast attack (in en)Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
- ↑ 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. . https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/14/world/africa/gunmen-carry-out-fatal-attacks-at-resorts-in-ivory-coast.html. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
- ↑ Gunmen open fire in Ivory Coast tourist resort. The Guardian (13 March 2016). Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ↑ Ivory Coast: Shooting at Grand Bassam beach resort. BBC News (13 March 2016). Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ↑ 18 killed in attack on Ivory Coast hotelsCNN. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ↑ Ivory Coast hotel shooting: Gunmen 'kill 15 including four Europeans' in Grand Bassam beach resort. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ↑ Gunmen Killed 14 People at a Beach Resort in Ivory Coast on Sunday (in English). VICE News. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ↑ Statement by Spokesperson Ned Price on the Terrorist AttackWhite House. Retrieved Mar 19, 2016.
- ↑ The Latest: Ivory Coast Says 6 Beach Attackers 'Neutralized'ABC News. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Ivory Coast hotel shooting: Gunmen 'kill 12 including four Europeans' in Grand Bassam beach resort. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ↑ 12 people reportedly dead in gun attack on Ivory Coast beach resort popular with Western tourists (in English). The Independent. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ↑ U.S. Embassy Abidjan on Twitter. Retrieved 13 March 2016.[non-primary source needed]
- ↑ 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. . https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/14/world/africa/gunmen-carry-out-fatal-attacks-at-resorts-in-ivory-coast.html. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ Ivory Coast steps up security following jihadist attack. BBC News. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ↑ Foreign Policy CAN on Twitter. Retrieved 15 March 2016.[non-primary source needed]
- ↑ Narendra Modi on Twitter.[non-primary source needed]
- ↑ PM Modi condemns multiple terror attacks in Ivory Coast, Ankara. The Times of India (14 March 2016).
- ↑ David Cameron on Twitter. Retrieved 15 March 2016.[non-primary source needed]
- ↑ Statement by NSC Spokesperson Ned Price on the Terrorist Attack in Côte d'IvoireWhite House. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
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