Ivory Coast song defies al-Qaeda after grand Bassam attack

Ivorian musicians have collaborated to release a song saying they are “not afraid” after Islamist militants killed 19 people on a beach.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said it was behind the attack earlier this month.

The song “Meme Pas Peur”, meaning not a bit afraid, was filmed on Grand Bassam beach, where the gunmen opened fire.

The lyrics, sung in French, include the lines “you kill innocents for lost causes” and “you won't go to paradise”.

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The defiant lyrics insist “in Ivory Coast, we're on our feet”.

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Some lyrics are directed at the militants including: “What are you doing on the beaches? Because of 70 virgins, you kill innocent people.

“In the name of God, you there, you won't go to paradise”.

And some are critical of the AQIM's interpretation of Islam, arguing “Islam is a religion that promotes love, you kill innocents for lost causes”.

The video was filmed on the same beach where gunmen killed 19 people

The song's producer Chico Lacoste told the BBC that he decided to make a song to “tell the whole world that: 'Yes it's true that Ivory Coast has been hit but we have not fallen down’”.

The BBC's Tamasin Ford in Abidjan says music is a typical reaction to a crisis in Ivory Coast and was used to ask for their war to stop and push for reconciliation.

A song has even been released in reaction to the bird flu epidemic, our correspondent adds.

-bbc