An IED blast has killed at least thirty-five civilians leaving thirty-seven wounded Monday when a convoy carrying supplies in Burkina Faso’s north was attacked.
“One of the vehicles carrying civilians hit an improvised explosive device. The provisional toll is 35 dead and 37 injured, all civilians,” a statement said by the Governor Rodolphe Sorgho.
The convoy of supplies to the restive north was escorted by the army and the incident took place between Djibo and Bourzanga, he said.
“The escorts quickly secured the perimeter and took measures to help the victims,” the statement said, adding that the convoy had left the north for the Burkina capital Ouagadougou.
Few weeks ago, 15 soldiers died in the same area in a double IED blast. 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 leave their homes.
With large swathes of the country outside government control, Burkina’s ruling junta, which seized power in January, has declared the fight against the insurgency a top priority