Seven civilians were killed in an ambush on a convoy of trucks leaving a gold mine in Burkina Faso on Friday, according to a military source and locals. Since 2015, the poor Sahel state has experienced a steady stream of deadly terrorist strikes, many of which target gold miners.
A military source reported that “a terrorist attack caused the death of at least seven civilians this morning” in Nadiabonli’s eastern region. The insider further said that once a convoy from the Boungou gold mine came to a stop because of technical difficulties, it was attacked.
Residents reported eight fatalities, all of them were civilian drivers, bringing the death toll somewhat higher.
11 victims were lost in an attack on the northern gold mining town of Baliata in March by unidentified gunmen. At least 10 workers were killed just two days prior in another attack on an illegal gold mine in the northeast close to the Niger border.
In November 2019, a convoy carrying workers to the Boungou mine was ambushed, resulting in the deaths of 38 people and the three-month closure of the site by Canadian mining company Semafo.
The Taparko mine in northern Burkina Faso was shut down in April of this year, according to Russian gold company Nordgold, because it was “under terrorist threat.”
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Since taking over in a coup in January, the nation’s new strongman Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba has promised to make combating instability a top priority, but attacks against soldiers and civilians have continued.
Following considerable criticism of Roch Marc Christian Kabore’s claimed inability to stop the Islamist bloodshed, Sandaogo deposed the elected president.
Thousands of people have died as a result of the seven-year insurgency led by organisations affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, and almost two million more have been forced from their homes.
(with inputs from agencies)
