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. 19 people were killed. Thirty-three people were injured.

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

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

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. The hotels were placed on lockdown by that time.

Government officials as said that security forces had killed six armed men. The terrorists shouted "Allahu Akbar".        

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". French authorities had warned Ivory Coast and Senegal weeks earlier of the danger of a terrorist attack.

 After the attack 
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and al-Mourabitoun claimed responsibility for the attack. 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.

 Reactions 

 Domestic 

 President Alassane Ouattara: "These cowardly attacks by terrorists will not be tolerated".

 International 

 : Global Affairs Canada: "Canada condemns the terrorist attack at Grand-Bassam beach resort in Côte d'Ivoire. Our thoughts and prayers are with you." 
: Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished the injured a speedy recovery.
: 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."
: 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."

 References 

Category:2016 mass shootings
Category:2016 in Africa
Category:Al-Qaeda
Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Africa
Category:Attacks on hotels
Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016
Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in Africa
Category:Ivory Coast
Category:March 2016 events
Category:Mass murder in 2016
Category:Mass murder in Africa
Category:2010s mass shootings in Africa
Category:Terrorist incidents in Africa in the 2010s