On Monday, September 5, 2022, the explosion of an improvised explosive device cost the lives of at least 35 people, all civilians. The incident occurred in the north of the country, precisely between Djibo and Bourzanga.
The victims’ vehicle exploded after running over an improvised landmine as part of a supply convoy leaving for Ouagadougou under the escort of defense and security forces. At least 35 civilians died in this explosion. According to a statement from the region’s governor, Lieutenant-Colonel Rodolphe Sorgho, 37 other injured people, including serious cases, were rushed to health centers.
“The elements of the escort quickly secured the perimeter and took measures to assist the victims. The injured were taken care of and the difficult cases evacuated to the appropriate structures,” said the same statement.
The victims, mainly shopkeepers and students
According to security sources, the supply convoy is composed of civilian drivers and traders.
On condition of anonymity, a resident of Djibo said that there were several dozen vehicles, including trucks and public transport buses. He also said that the victims were mainly merchants who were going to Ouagadougou to buy supplies. Among the victims were also students who were returning to the capital for the next school year.
Skies darken further in the North as jihadists take hold
The attack of this Monday 05 September is not the first recorded this year in the region. In early August, fifteen soldiers were killed on the same Djibo-Bourzanga road in a double IED attack. In recent weeks, the situation has become unbearable for the population. Jihadist groups used dynamite to destroy sites on the main roads leading to the two major cities in northern Burkina, Dori and Djibo, in an attempt to isolate them from the rest of the country.
The attack on Djibo was probably a retort to President Damiba after his message the day before.
The new terrorist attack in northern Burkina on Monday, September 5, comes as the head of the ruling junta, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, took stock of five months of fighting terrorism. He described a bleak picture of the situation in which the country found itself before the January 24 coup. In terms of results, Paul-Henri Damiba spoke of remobilized forces, acquisition of military equipment, strengthening of techniques and disorganization of the armed terrorist groups by the armed forces.
Finally, the President of Burkina Faso wished that the date of September 04 would sound like a new beginning for the Burkinabe, like their predecessors who fought for the reconstitution of Upper Volta, after its dissolution in 1932. “It is time for the Burkinabe to give themselves back their hands because what is at stake is their survival”.
It should be noted that Burkina Faso commemorated this Thursday, September 1st, the international day of remembrance for victims of terrorism. Since 2015, the country has been suffering the torments of armed groups that occupy at least 40% of the territory. The families of the victims took advantage of the commemoration to address President Paul-Henri Damiba on measures for the medical and financial care of the injured and the families of victims of terrorism.
