Английская Википедия:1964 United States Embassy in Libreville bombings

Материал из Онлайн справочника
Перейти к навигацииПерейти к поиску

Файл:Chancery.jpg
The United States Embassy in Libreville

The United States Embassy in Libreville, Gabon was bombed on 5 March 1964 and again on 8 March.

Background

Two weeks before the bombings, Gabon had undergone an abortive coup d'état against its president, Leon M'ba. Following the attempted coup, some Gabonese mistakenly identified the United States as a co-conspirator in the attempted coup.[1] Time asserted that French officials helped spread the rumor of American involvement in the coup.[2]

Bombings

On 5 March, William F. Courtney, deputy chief of the embassy, received a call from a man identifying himself as DuPont and demanding all Americans leave Gabon. Two other phone calls threatening an imminent attack were received by the United States Information Service. During a rainstorm about 8:15 that night, a small bomb exploded outside the embassy. The explosion, which occurred at a time when the building was closed and locked, resulted in damage to the embassy sign and the cracking of two windows.[3]

Following the bombing, French Gabonese made more threatening phone calls to the embassy.[4] A second bomb exploded roughly 50 feet from the embassy two nights later, causing no damage. A drive-by shooting, during which at least five rounds of buckshot were fired from a 12-gauge automatic shotgun, riddled the second story windows with over 30 holes. William Courtney, the American chargé d'affaires, noticed two Europeans in a Simca automobile drive past the embassy at roughly 9:20 PM, one hour before the shooting and bombing. An unnamed American official said that he saw a car circle the embassy 10 minutes after the bombing. Two Gabonese policemen were assigned to protect the building, and M'ba ordered an investigation into the bombings.[5] He denounced the allegations against Americans, saying:

Шаблон:Quote

References

Шаблон:Reflist

Шаблон:Diplomatic missions in Gabon