1978 Dutch province hall hostage crisis

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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 / 52.9854; 6.5393Coordinates: 52°59′07″N 6°32′21″E / 52.9854°N 6.5393°E / 52.9854; 6.5393
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

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.

Hostage-taking[]

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.

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 had threatened to shoot two of the politicians, and then one further hostage every 30 minutes. One hostage was fatally wounded during the raid.^[1]

See also[]

• Other South Moluccan terrorist actions:
  • Attempt at kidnapping Juliana of the Netherlands
  • 1975 Indonesian consulate hostage crisis
  • 1975 Dutch train hostage crisis
  • 1977 Dutch train hostage crisis
  • 1977 Dutch school hostage crisis
• List of hostage crises
• Terrorism in the European Union
• List of terrorist incidents in the Netherlands

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1978 Dutch province hall hostage crisis.

• (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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