Grand-Bassam shootings

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Grand-Bassam shootings
Part of the spillover of the Maghreb insurgency
The beach targeted, pictured in 2008
LocationGrand-Bassam, Ivory Coast
Date13 March 2016
Attack type
Mass murder, mass shooting
WeaponsAssault rifles
Hand grenades
Deaths16 civilians and 3 special forces members
(+3 attackers)
Injured
33
PerpetratorsAl-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Al-Mourabitoun
No. of participants
6
Grand-Bassam is located in Ivory Coast
Grand-Bassam
Grand-Bassam

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[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

Domestic[change | change source]

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

International[change | change source]

  •  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[change | change source]

  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". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. 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)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  19. Mieu, Baudelaire (13 March 2016). "Al-Qaeda Claims Ivory Coast Attack With at Least 16 Killed". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  20. "AQIM releases Grand-Bassam attackers' photos". StarAfrica. 17 March 2016. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. 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.