SW News:

A vehicle in an escorted convoy carrying supplies from Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, hit an improvised explosive device (IED), triggering a blast that killed 35 civilians and injured dozens of others on Monday. The incident took place between Djibo and Bourzanga in an area where jihadist militants have attacked villages, military, and police outposts since 2015. 

The interim government disclosed that security forces rapidly secured the area and took measures to assist the victims. “One of the vehicles carrying civilians hit an improvised explosive device. The provisional toll is 35 dead and 37 injured, all civilians,” the regional governor Rodolphe Sorgo’s statement said. 

“The escorts quickly secured the perimeter and took measures to help the victims,” the statement said. 

The West African country has been battling a seven-year insurgency that has killed over 2,000 people and forced an estimated 1.9 million to flee their homes. The fighting has been fueled by extremist jihadist groups suspected to have ties with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. These militant groups have staged similar attacks on arterial roads leading to the main cities in the north of the country, including Dori and Djibo. 

In June, in one of the bloodiest massacres in the country, 79 people were killed after an attack by terrorists on the village of Seytenga in the north. 

In August, 15 soldiers were killed in the same area in a double IED explosion. 

Burkina Faso’s junta, which seized power in January, declared the fight against insurgency a top priority, with the army saying it has undertaken “offensive actions” and also initiated a process of dialogue with certain armed groups, through religious and local leaders. 

However, attacks have been reported in the tri-border area of the Sahel region. This latest blast shows a security crisis in the region which has spread to other countries like Mali and Niger.