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On the morning of Monday March 13, 1978, at 10:15, three South-Moluccans seized the Province Hall in Assen, Netherlands. Some of the people inside escaped by jumping out of the window, including the Queen's Commissioner of the Drenthe province. 16 women and 55 men were taken hostage. Two people were killed.
| 1978 Dutch province hall hostage crisis | |
|---|---|
 Province Hall one day after the hostage crisis | |
| Location |  Assen, Netherlands |
| Coordinates | 52°59′07″N 6°32′21″E / 52.9854°N 6.5393°E |
| Date | 13 - 14 March 1978 |
| Target | Drenthe Provincial government |
Attack type | Hostage-taking |
| Weapons | Guns / Handguns |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Injured | 1 |
| Perpetrators | Moluccan youth (3 perpetrators) |
| Motive | Release of 21 prisoners taken in previous hijackings |
Hostage-taking edit
The attackers demanded the release of 21 prisoners who were involved in earlier hijackings, and free transport to Schiphol airport and out of the country. An ultimatum was set for March 14 at 2pm when the attackers would shoot two of the politicians, and then one further hostage every 30 minutes
After a few hours, hostage Ko de Groot was executed in front of a window and thrown out.[1] A photographer was wounded and an ambulance trying to get to the body of Ko de Groot was shot at.
During the night, the marines of the Bijzondere Bijstands Eenheid (BBE) forced their way into the basement. The next day, March 14 at 2:34pm, they raided the building from outside and from the basement, shortly after the attackers' deadline. One hostage was fatally wounded during the raid.[1]
See also edit
- Other South Moluccan terrorist actions:
- List of hostage crises
- Terrorism in the European Union
- List of terrorist incidents in the Netherlands
References edit
- ^ a b van Hoeven-ten Voorde, Janita (7 March 2008). "Het leven niet meer in eigen hand". Reformatorisch Dagblad (in Dutch). Erdee Media Groep. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
External links edit
- (in Dutch) Images from an armoured car unit which was involved
- South Moluccan Suicide Commando in MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base
- (in Dutch) News from local newspaper dagblad van het Noorden March 13, 1978
- (in Dutch) News from local newspaper dagblad van het Noorden March 13, 1978
- (in Dutch) News from local newspaper dagblad van het Noorden March 13, 1978
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