At least 35 civilians were killed and 37 others injured on Monday (September 5th) when an artisanal device exploded as a supply convoy passed through northern Burkina Faso, between Djibo and Bourzanga, said the governor of the Sahel region.

"One of the vehicles transporting civilians in the said convoy exploded on contact with an improvised explosive device. The provisional toll shows 35 dead and 37 wounded, all civilians," said the statement from the governor, Lieutenant-Colonel Rodolphe Sorgho.

These convoys, escorted by the army, supply towns in the north subject to a blockade by jihadist groups.

"Elements of the escort quickly secured the perimeter and took measures to provide assistance to the victims. The wounded were taken care of and the difficult cases were evacuated to appropriate structures", continues the press release which indicated that the convoy was leaving the north of the country to go to the capital Ouagadougou.

"The supply convoy was made up of civilian drivers and traders," a security source told AFP. 

In early August, fifteen soldiers were killed on the same Djibo-Bourzanga axis in a double improvised explosive device attack.

In recent weeks, jihadist groups have destroyed with dynamite places located on the main axes leading to the two major cities in northern Burkina, Dori and Djibo, in an attempt to isolate them. 

Burkina Faso, where soldiers took power in January promising to make the fight against jihadists their priority, is confronted like several neighboring countries with the violence of armed movements affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, which since 2015 have caused thousands of deaths and some two million displaced persons.

More than 40% of Burkina's territory is outside state control, according to official figures, and attacks have increased since the start of the year.

With Reuters and AFP

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