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| Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara, center, visits the area were gunmen attacked people in Grand Bassam, Ivory Coast, March 13, 2016. At least six armed men attacked beachgoers outside three hotels Sunday in Grand-Bassam, killing several civilians and special forces, sending tourists fleeing through the historic Ivory Coast resort town. |
GRAND-BASSAM,
Ivory Coast (AP) -- Armed men attacked an Ivory Coast beach
resort Sunday, killing at least 16 people and sending tourists fleeing
through the historic town of Grand-Bassam in an attack claimed by
al-Qaida's North Africa branch.
Bloody bodies
were sprawled on the beach and witnesses described horrific scenes as a
lazy weekend afternoon was shattered by the West Africa's latest
extremist strike.
Ivory Coast's President
Alassane Ouattara told reporters at the scene that 14 civilians, two
special forces and six assailants were killed when the gunmen stormed
the beach. The president arrived in Grand-Bassam a few hours after the
attack, visiting the hotels and saluting security forces for their quick
response.
"I present my condolences to the
families of the people who were murdered, and of course I am very proud
of our security forces who reacted so fast," Ouattara said outside the
Etoile du Sud, one of the targeted hotels. "The toll could've been much
heavier."
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb
claimed responsibility for the attack, according to SITE Intelligence
Group which monitors jihadist websites. The Islamic extremist group made
the declaration in a post to its Telegram channels, calling three of
the attackers "heroes" for the assault.
The
bursts of gunfire sent people running from the beach at Grand-Bassam, a
UNESCO World Heritage site and popular destination for Ivorians and
foreigners about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Abidjan, Ivory Coast's
commercial center. It was the third major attack on a tourism center in
West Africa since November.
Some witnesses
said the assailants fired at random, while others said the killing was
more targeted. Witness Marcel Guy said that gunmen raced across the
beach in small groups, toting Kalashnikov rifles and hunting for
victims.
One gunman, who had a long beard,
approached two children on the beach and Guy said he heard the man
speaking Arabic. One of the children then knelt and started praying. He
was spared, while the other boy was not.
"The Christian boy was shot and killed right in front of my eyes," Guy said.
An
Associated Press reporter saw four bodies sprawled out on the beach in
front of a small resort next to the Etoile du Sud hotel, which is
popular with foreigners.
Jacques Able, who
identified himself as the owner of Etoile du Sud, said he rushed to the
hotel after getting a phone call. He said one person had been killed at
the hotel.
A receptionist at the Etoile du Sud described the mayhem.
"We don't know where they came from, and we don't know where they've gone," said the receptionist, who would not give his name.
Beachgoers
could be seen lining up with their hands above their heads as they
filed out of the area. Residents who heard the gunfire hid in their
homes, said Josiane Sekongo, 25, who lives across from one of the town's
beachfront hotels.
An American embassy
delegation was in Grand-Bassam on Sunday, but the U.S. Embassy in
Abidjan said it was monitoring the situation and had no evidence U.S.
citizens were targeted or harmed.
Dozens of
people were killed in the earlier attacks on West African tourist sites,
starting with a siege at a Malian hotel in November and then an assault
on a hotel and cafe in Burkina Faso in January. Analysts have warned
for months that Ivory Coast, which shares a border with both of those
affected countries, could be hit by jihadists as well.
All
three West African countries are former French colonies and at least
one of those killed in Grand-Bassam Sunday was French. The Paris
prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the attack, calling
it murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise. Anti-terrorism
investigators will handle the probe because there was a French victim.
The
West African attacks indicate that extremist violence is spreading from
North Africa, where a beach attack in June killed 38 people in Tunisia.
"I
have always said that Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Dakar (Senegal) are the
next targets for jihadist groups because these two countries represent
windows of France in Africa," said Lemine Ould M. Salem, an expert on
al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and author of a book "The Bin Laden of
the Sahara."
The United States strongly
condemned the attack in Grand-Bassam, sending "thoughts and prayers to
all affected by this senseless violence." The U.S. Embassy in Abidjan is
making every effort to account for the welfare of American citizens in
the area, said the statement issued by State Department spokesman John
Kirby.
Ivory Coast is an important regional
partner to the United States, said the statement. "In the days ahead we
stand ready to support the Ivorian government as it investigates this
heinous attack," said the statement.
British
Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday he was "appalled" by the attack
in Grand-Bassam as well as a bombing in Turkey's capital that also
occurred Sunday.
