Toeni bus bombing

Toeni bus bombing
Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
LocationToeni Department, Sourou Province, Burkina Faso
DateJanuary 4, 2020
Attack type
Improvised explosive device
Deaths14
Injured9
PerpetratorUnknown

The Toeni bus bombing occurred when a school bus drove over an improvised explosive device in Toeni, Burkina Faso, killing fourteen people and injuring nine others on January 4, 2020.

Background

Burkina Faso has been grappling with a jihadist insurgency since 2015, with attacks from groups like Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara intensifying since 2017 and 2019 respectively.[1] Throughout the war, landmines have plagued rural areas, and are often placed by jihadists along roads used by the military and civilians.[2]

Bombing

Three buses were carrying 160 passengers, 104 of them students.[3] The bus was carrying students returning from the Christmas season along the Toeni-Tougan highway at the time of the bombing.[4] Stanislas Ouaro stated afterwards that the road was closed, due to the risk of attacks in the region.[3]

The bomb was a homemade IED, and no group claimed responsibility for the attack.[5]

The majority of the dead were children, according to a statement from the Burkinabe government.[6] Fourteen people were killed, including seven children, and nine were injured.[7]

References

  1. ^ Savell, Stephanie (March 4, 2021). "The Costs of United States' Post-9/11 "Security Assistance": How Counterterrorism Intensified Conflict in Burkina Faso and Around the World" (PDF). Watson Institute at Brown University. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  2. ^ "Landmines, improvised explosive devices pose deadly risks for displaced in Sahel and Lake Chad". UNHCR US. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  3. ^ a b AFP (2020-01-05). "Seven children among 14 killed in roadside bomb in Burkina Faso". Brecorder. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  4. ^ "Children among more than a dozen killed in Burkina Faso bombing, security sources say". France 24. 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  5. ^ "Schoolchildren among 14 killed in Burkina Faso bus blast". RFI. 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  6. ^ "Burkina Faso bus blast: Students among 14 dead". 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  7. ^ "Incident Summary for GTDID: 202001040001". www.start.umd.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-06.