At least seven civilians were killed Friday, August 26 in eastern Burkina Faso, during a "
terrorist attack
" against a logistics convoy of a gold mine, AFP learned from security and local sources.
"
A terrorist attack caused the death of at least seven civilians this morning around 05:00 (GMT and local time) in the Nadiabonli area
," a military source told AFP.
Residents gave a slightly different toll, citing "
eight dead and injured
", "
all civilian drivers
".
"
The attack targeted part of a logistics convoy from the Boungou gold mine, located in the locality of Nadiabonli after technical difficulties (which prevented it) from continuing on its way
", specified the military source.
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Burkinabè gold mines are regularly targeted by armed groups.
In November 2021, unidentified armed men had ambushed a convoy of five cars, escorted by soldiers, transporting workers from the same Boungou mine.
The attack killed 38 employees, according to an official report, leading to the closure of the mine, owned by the Canadian Semafo, for three months.
On April 2, around 20 people were killed in an attack on an artisanal gold mine in northern Burkina Faso.
On March 12, eleven people were also killed in the attack on another artisanal mine in Baliata, a locality located in the Sahel region, also in northern Burkina.
Two days earlier, a similar attack had targeted a wild gold mine in Tondobi, a locality in the municipality of Seytenga, near the Niger border, killing around ten people.
Faced with insecurity, the Russian gold producer Nordgold announced in April the cessation of activities at the Taparko gold mine, Burkina's main private mine, located in the North.
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Burkina Faso, particularly the north and east, has been the scene of jihadist attacks since 2015, perpetrated by movements affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, which have left several thousand dead and nearly two million moved.
The country's new strongman, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré at the end of January, accused of ineffectiveness in the face of jihadist violence, has made the security issue his "
priority
", but attacks against civilians and soldiers have multiplied since the coup.
