France ups Africa anti-terror support

France vowed on Tuesday to step up anti-terrorist cooperation in Africa after al-Qaeda's North African branch said it carried out a deadly weekend attack on an Ivory Coast beach resort.

Ivory Coast soldier on the beach resort of Grand-Bassam after gunmen went on a shooting rampage in three hotels.

"We must reinforce our cooperation so that the terrorists have no chance" of success, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault who arrived in Abidjan earlier on Tuesday along with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.


The two ministers flew in after Sunday's attack on the Grand-Bassam resort that left 18 people dead, among them four French nationals. Thirty-three people were wounded in the attack, 26 of whom are still in hospital.

After visiting some of the wounded, the French ministers met with Ivorian Defence Minister Alain-Richard Donwahi and Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko. Also in Abidjan as a mark of solidarity were Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi and Togolese counterpart Faure Gnassingbe, who urged a regional response to terror.

"You don't fight terrorism alone... there are national responses which are important but they must be complemented and amplified by a regional and international response," Gnassignbe said.
"Alone, none can defeat terrorism."

"Terrorism falls under international jurisdiction," agreed Benin's president. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb (AQIM) said the shooting rampage was one of a series of operations "targeting dens of espionage and conspiracies".

It directly threatened France and its allies in the region in warning that nations involved in the anti-insurgent Operation Barkhane and the 2013 French-led Operation Serval in Mali would "receive a response", with their "criminal leaders" and interests targeted, according to the SITE group which monitors extremist groups.