7 children among 14 killed by roadside bomb in Burkina Faso
Seven children and four women were among the 14 civilians killed when a roadside bomb destroyed their bus in northwestern Burkina Faso, the government said on Sunday, condemning it as a "cowardly and barbaric act".
Nineteen more people were hurt, three of them seriously, in Saturday's blast, the communications ministry said.
Education Minister, Stanislas Ouaro, said the bus was using a road that was supposed to be closed to traffic because of the risk of attacks in the region, which is near the border with Mali.
No has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb but militant violence in Burkina Faso has been blamed on militants linked to both the al-Qaeda and Daesh groups.
The explosion happened in Sourou province, a security source said, telling AFP: "The vehicle hit a homemade bomb on the Toeni-Tougan road."
Meanwhile, the army reported an assault against gendarmes at Inata in the north of the country on Friday, saying "a dozen terrorists" had been killed.
The deaths came after 35 people, most of them women, died in a massacre on December 24 in the northern city of Arbinda and seven Burkinabe troops were killed in a raid on their nearby army base.
Burkina Faso, bordering Mali and Niger, has seen frequent militant attacks which have left hundreds of people dead since the start of 2015 when extremist violence began to spread across the Sahel region.
In a televised address on Tuesday, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore insisted that "victory" against "terrorism" was assured.
The entire region is fighting against a militant insurgency with help from Western countries, but the bloodshed has continued.
Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad have joined forces to combat terrorism in the fragile region that lies between the Sahara and the Atlantic.
Increasingly deadly extremist attacks in Burkina have killed more than 750 people since 2015, according to an AFP count, and forced 560,000 people from their homes, UN figures show.
(Source: AFP)
Asylum seekers in UK ‘hide or flee to Ireland’ amid Rwanda fears
People protest outside US embassy in Burkina Faso over interference
Niger: Russian military deployed at airbase housing American troops
World on edge as Netanyahu orders invasion of Rafah
Explainer: What are the contours of Gaza truce deal accepted by Hamas?
UN General Assembly to vote on recognizing Palestine as full member
In attacking Rafah, Israel is sabotaging global efforts to stop Gaza war: Iran
Israel’s hostile acts should not affect Iran-IAEA ties: Nuclear chief
Asylum seekers in UK ‘hide or flee to Ireland’ amid Rwanda fears
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
‘Israel exacerbating Gaza crisis by blocking aid, targeting hospitals and schools’
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
