Trial in 2016 Ivory Coast attack set to get underway

Eighteen people go on trial in Ivory Coast accused of involvement in one of West Africa's bloodiest jihadist attacks -- a machine-gun assault on a beach resort in 2016 that left 19 dead.

But only four of the 18 will be physically present for the long-awaited proceedings in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's economic hub.

On March 13, 2016, three men wielding assault rifles attacked Grand-Bassam, a tourist complex 40 kilometres east of Abidjan popular with foreigners.

The 45-minute bloodbath ended when the three were shot dead by Ivorian security forces.

Al-Qaeda's North African affiliate, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), claimed responsibility the same day.

It said the attack was in response to anti-jihadist operations in the Sahel by France and its allies, and targeted Ivory Coast for having handed over AQIM militants to Mali.

The charges against the 18 include acts of terrorism, murder, attempted murder, criminal concealment, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition "and complicity in these deeds," Public Prosecutor Richard Adou said last week.

Nineteen people were killed -- nine Ivorians, four French citizens, a Lebanese, a German, a Macedonian, a Malian, a Nigerian and a person who could not be identified.

Mali is the epicentre of a decade-long jihadist revolt that has shaken the Sahel, claiming thousands of lives and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.