ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Gunmen opened fire on picnickers and swimmers
enjoying a perfect day at three beach resort hotels near the Ivory
Coast's capital Sunday, killing 16 people and leaving bodies strewn
across the bloodstained sand. It was the third major attack in West
Africa since November, and verified fears that the spread of terrorism
across the region was far from over.
The attack, on the first sunny Sunday in weeks, took place in
Grand-Bassam, a popular palm tree-lined getaway for Ivorians and
foreigners. Fourteen civilians and two members of the country's special
forces were killed, as well as six gunmen, according to a spokeswoman
for the president.
Authorities in Ivory Coast appealed for calm.
"The situation is under control," President Alassane Ouattara told reporters on a visit to the scene of the shootings.
The North African affiliate of al-Qaida, al-Qaida in the Islamic
Maghreb, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released
Sunday evening that praised three "knights" who had carried it out.
There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy in the number of
attackers.
French authorities warned weeks ago that Ivory Coast, as well as Senegal, could be targeted.
Groups with ties to al-Qaida have led an increasing number of deadly
attacks on destinations popular with expatriates in West Africa,
launching assaults far from what is thought to be its regional base, in
the deserts of northern Mali.
In January, militants attacked the Hotel Splendid and Cappuccino Cafe
in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Gunmen also attacked the
Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali, in November. In all, dozens have
been killed and many more wounded.
The region is nervous. In many countries, officials have set up new
checkpoints along highways.
Metal detectors are in place outside hotels
and even small coffee shops. Drivers visiting restaurants are often
subjected to thorough searches of their vehicles.
But thwarting this type of relatively simple attack, carried out by a handful of gunmen, is proving difficult.
The identities of the victims in Grand-Bassam had yet to be released,
but both locals and foreigners were among the dead. The French
government said one of its citizens had been killed. An official at the Grand-Bassam morgue said a German woman was among the victims. Ivory
Coast's interior minister listed the victims' nationalities as Ivorian,
Burkinabe, Malian, Cameroonian, French and German, without offering more
details.
A U.S. trade delegation of university representatives was in
Grand-Bassam at the time of the attacks, but not at any of the targeted
hotels, according to a U.S. Embassy official. The official said there
was no evidence that U.S. citizens had been harmed in the assault.
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