Cote d’Ivoire Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan has urged member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to reinforce their cooperation to defeat terrorism.
Duncan who was speaking during an official ceremony on Monday at the ECOWAS offices in Abidjan, said “increased cooperation and harmonization of efforts will enable the region to effectively overcome security challenges facing the region.”
“The reality of terrorist attacks and piracy in our different regions requires us to work together,” the government boss said.
According to him, it is important for the region to confront these threats to maintain stability and peace within ECOWAS region.
Terrorist attacks targeting tourists or places frequented by foreigners have been on the rise in Africa in the last one year.
On Jan. 15, 2016, 30 people, most of them Westerners, were killed and 70 others injured when terrorists raided Splendid Hotel and Cappuccino restaurant in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso capital.
The siege which was brought to an end by Burkinabe forces supported by French soldiers, lasted for about 12 hours.
Al-Mourabitoune terror group that is affiliated to Al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), claimed responsibility for the attack that targeted the two joints that are frequented by the expatriate community.
On Nov. 20, 2015, Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali capital, was attacked by armed assailants who killed 20 people among them 14 foreigners.
Malian and French forces intervened to rescue customers and employees who had been held for nine hours by terrorists said to be allied to AQIM.
On June 26, 2015, 38 tourists, most of them British nationals, died when an armed Tunisian student opened fire at a hotel in the tourist resort of Sousse, some 140 km south of Tunis.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack at Sousse, as well as another attack on March 18, 2015 at the Bardo museum in Tunis that claimed 22 lives, 21 of them foreign tourists.
Finally, on March 13, 2016, 22 people, among them 14 civilians and two security officers, lost their lives in a terrorist attack that targeted three hotels in Cote d’Ivoire’s Grand-Bassam tourist resort which is situated about 30 km southeast of Abidjan. AQIM claimed responsibility for the attack.
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