At least 35 killed in Burkina Faso convoy blast

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At least 35 civilians were killed and 37 others injured in a blast that rocked the country of Burkina Faso Monday afternoon, in what seemed to be a homemade explosive device that went off in a truck carrying supplies. 

The governor of the Sahel region where the blast occurred, released in a statement that the truck was passing on the road between the cities of Djibo and Bourzanga which was also transporting civilians when it drove over the explosive device. 

According to the statement, these transportation trucks usually drive alongside a military convoy and carry food and supplies to the north of the country that is besieged by armed terrorist groups, adding that the final destination of the truck was the capital of Ouagadougou. 

The governor commented that security officials were quick to the scene and did what they could to aid the victims and transport those who needed hospitalization, with one security source telling AFP that the truck's drivers were also traders. 

One witness residing in Djibo (who asked to remain anonymous) disclosed to AFP that there were multiple trucks, and although the majority of civilians in them were merchants, among them were students who were going back to the capital to start the academic year. 

This comes after two simultaneous explosions claimed the lives of 15 military personnel at the beginning of August, and after armed groups bombed locations on the main roads in the recent weeks that lead to the northern cities of Djibo and Dori in an attempt to isolate them.

The conflict-ridden country has witnessed terrorist attacks since 2015 by groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda after a military coup, which resulted in thousands of deaths and almost 2 million civilians fleeing their homes. According to official data, more than 40% of the country is not run by the government. 

At the end of last January, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba accused then-president Roc Marc Kabore of failing to fight terrorist activity in the country. Nonetheless, the situation in Burkina Faso has not improved following the military coup which ousted Kabore, as the country still falls victim to bloodshed and violence, exhibited by the Sitenga massacre in June that killed 86 civilians.