Gunmen attacked two hotels in southern Ivory Coast, the nation’s government said in a statement Sunday.
Advertisement
Witnesses say gunfire has been heard in a south-eastern Ivory Coast beach resort town, 25 miles east of the country’s economic centre, Abidjan.
The hotles are: Etoile Du Sud in the coastal city of Grand-Bassam, which is popular with Western tourists, and Koral Beach Annexe. She said security forces had responded and that locals were hiding in their homes.
A dozen ambulances are on standby and military vehicles are heading to the scene with heavy machine guns, along with armed traditional hunters known as Dozo. “There are only a few people looking after the bodies”.
Videos posted online have shown vacationers fleeing as the shooting broke out, and victims lying on the beach.
The historic town of Grand-Bassam is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Advertisement
Groups linked to al-Qaeda have killed more than 50 people in attacks on hotels in the capitals of Mali and Burkina Faso since November.
