Ivory Coast: Shooting at Grand Bassam beach resort

  • 15 minutes ago
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  • From the section Africa
Media captionUnverified footage is believed to show people fleeing from the attack in Grand Bassam
Gunmen have attacked a hotel in the beach resort of Grand Bassam in Ivory Coast, with several deaths reported.
Eyewitnesses say unidentified, heavily armed assailants fired on guests at the Etoile du Sud hotel. Security forces have been sent to the scene.
Grand Bassam, about 40km (25 miles) east of the country's main city Abidjan, is popular with Westerners.
Ivory Coast was seen as a model of stability in West Africa until a civil war erupted in 2002.
Security forces drive towards Grand-Bassam from Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 13 MarchImage copyrightReuters
Image captionSecurity forces have been sent to the scene
The conflict pitted the mainly Muslim north and the largely Christian south. Since then, peace deals have alternated with renewed violence.
Radio France Internationale quotes an official as saying five people were killed, but other reports put the death toll higher.
A witness of Sunday's attack told AFP news agency that "heavily armed men wearing balaclavas" had fired at guests at the L'Etoile du Sud, which AFP says was full of expats in the current heatwave.
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