Issued on: 06/09/2022 – 01:22
Thirty-five civilians were killed and 37 injured when an IED blast hit a convoy of supplies in jihadist-hit northern Burkina Faso, the governor of the Sahel region said.
“One of the vehicles carrying civilians hit an improvised explosive device. The preliminary toll is 35 dead and 37 injured, all civilians,” said a statement from Governor Rodolphe Sorgho.
The convoy of supplies to the troubled north was escorted by the military and the incident took place between Djibo and Bourzanga, he said.
“The escorts quickly secured the perimeter and took steps to assist the victims,” the statement said, adding that the convoy had left north for the Burkina capital of Ouagadougou.
In early August, 15 soldiers died in a double IED explosion in the same area.
Jihadist groups have recently carried out similar attacks on arterial roads leading to the main cities in the north – Dori and Djibo.
The landlocked Sahel state is in the grip of a seven-year-old insurgency that has claimed more than 2,000 lives and forced some 1.9 million people to flee their homes.
The fighting is concentrated in the north and east, led by jihadists suspected of having links to al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group.
With more than 40 percent of the country out of government control, Burkina’s ruling junta, which took power in January, has declared fighting the insurgency a top priority.
(AFP)